IN  THE  DAYS  OF 
BRIGHAM  YOUNG 


BY 


ARTHUR  THOMAS 


BROADWAY  PUBLISHING  CO. 

835  BROAD  WAY,  NEW  YORK 


Copyright,  1914, 

BY 

ARTHUR  THOMAS 


Affectionately  dedicated  to 
MY  MOTHER 


In  the  Days  of  Brigham  Young 

PART    I 


CHAPTER  I. 

MUCH  has  been  said  and  written  of  the  Mormons, 
of  their  life,  habits,  pernicious  political  activity,  of 
the  institution  of  plural  marriage,  and  the  cunning, 
unscrupulous  methods  by  which  they  have  fostered 
and  kept  alive  that  institution.  Some  that  has  been 
said  and  written  is  true ;  much  of  it  false ;  and  most 
of  in  inaccurate.  This  book  is  a  true  story  of  my 
life,  not  an  attack  on  Mormonism,  not  a  defense  of 
it,  simply  an  account  of  the  romantic  adventures  and 
stirring  incidents  of  my  stormy  career. 

I,  Joseph  Lorenzo,  was  born  in  "Zion"  in  the  days 
when  Brigham  Young  ruled  it  with  an  iron  hand, 
by  means  of  prayer  and  revelation  when  such  meth 
ods  seemed  expedient,  and  by  intrigue  and  murder 
when  it  seemed  best  to  him.  I  am  the  eighteenth  off 
spring  of  Henry  Lorenzo,  and  the  second  child  by 
his  third  plural  wife.  Being  a  polygamous  child, 
reared  in  a  polygamous  household  and  taught  the 
doctrines  of  the  Mormon  Church  from  the  time  when 

I 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF  BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

words  first  conveyed  thought  to  my  childish  mind, 
and  having  taken  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the 
church  during  my  boyhood  and  early  manhood,  I 
feel  that  the  reader  will  be  justified  in  concluding 
that  what  is  said  here  of  Mormonism  is  accurate, 
and  that  I  know  whereof  I  speak. 

I  was  born  on  a  farm  which  is  now  partly  within 
the  corporate  limits  of  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah.  Our 
house  was  typical  of  the  time,  community,  and  man 
ner  of  living,  being  a  long,  irregular,  clumsily  de 
signed  structure,  surrounded  by  half  grown  Carolina 
poplars.  The  main  part,  which  was  built  first,  was 
of  adobe  brick.  The  several  additions,  which  were 
tacked  on  later  to  meet  with  the  stress  of  events, 
when  the  Lord  of  the  household  saw  fit  to  bring 
home  a  new  wife,  or  as  the  Mormons  put  it,  "add 
a  new  star  to  his  crown,"  were  of  wood. 

The  old  brick  part  was  extremely  plain,  both  in 
side  and  out.  There  was  no  veranda,  simply  steps 
leading  up  to  the  three  apartments  into  which  the  old 
brick  structure  was  divided.  Each  section  was  ex 
actly  the  same,  having  three  rooms  below  and  two 
above.  The  windows  were  small,  with  little  old 
fashioned  panes  of  glass;  the  only  departure  from 
rigid  plainness  being  a  little  dormer  window  in  the 
roof  of  each  section.  There  was  only  one  entrance 
in  the  front  and  one  in  the  rear  of  each  apartment, 
and  no  connection  between  them. 

The  new  additions  were  more  pretentious,  varying 
in  size  and  accoutrements,  according  to  the  amount 
of  influence  the  occupant  exercised  over  the  Lord 
of  the  household.  The  favorite  wife,  for  instance, 
had  by  far  the  most  luxurious  suite,  both  as  to  size 
and  conveniences.  Nothing  was  spared,  all  the  com 
forts  and  luxuries  obtainable  were  in  evidence. 

Of  the  character,  disposition,  and  life  of  the  peo- 

2 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

pie  living  in  the  various  apartments  of  our  house, 
more  anon.  We  shall  now  turn  to  the  humble  little 
refuge  occupied  by  mother,  sister  Ruth  and  me.  My 
mother  being  the  third  "star"  was  permitted  to  shine 
rather  obscurely  in  the  third  apartment  of  the  old 
building,  the  one  adjacent  to  the  new  additions.  Our 
living  room  faced  the  road,  and  was  furnished  with 
three  chairs  of  the  ancient  straightbacked  variety, 
and  a  rag  carpet,  which  was  the  fruit  of  my  mother's 
industry.  The  paperless  walls  were  adorned  by  two 
pictures,  one  of  my  maternal  grandmother,  and  one 
of  Brigham  Young.  Here  I  received  my  education, 
religious  and  otherwise. 

My  mother  was  not  of  polygamous  birth,  but  the 
child  of  a  legitimate  marriage  consummated  in  Eng 
land.  When  she  was  a  child  of  ten  my  maternal 
grandmother,  a  widow  keeping  a  country  inn, 
was  proselyted  by  a  Mormon  "missionary"  and 
brought  to  the  "promised  land."  Thus  mother  was 
taken  at  a  tender  age  and  brought  up  in  the  faith. 
As  I  look  back,  I  can  see  that  her  emotional  dispo 
sition,  with  enough  of  that  English  determination 
for  consistency,  was  a  soil  on  which  religious  fanati 
cism  would  be  sure  to  flourish.  She  was  a  true- 
hearted  woman,  who  lived  as  she  was  taught  and 
was  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  herself  to  duty.  I  can 
close  my  eyes  and  see  her  seated  in  her  rocker,  with 
her  grey  head  bent  over  the  Book  of  Mormon,  her 
thin,  acetic  face  lighted  up  with  the  hope  of  pleasure 
promised  to  the  faithful  in  the  world  to  come.  God 
knows  she  saw  little  enough  of  pleasure  in  this  life. 
So  wrapped  up  in  religion  was  she  that  she  did  not 
seem  to  appreciate  the  injustice  with  which  she  was 
treated.  Her  one  pleasure  in  life  was  to  care  for  my 
sister  Ruth  and  me  and  instruct  us  in  the  doctrine 
of  the  faith. 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

Henry  Lorenzo,  as  I  remember  him  in  the  days  of 
my  childhood,  was  rugged,  thick  set,  of  medium 
height  and  energetic  of  mind  and  body.  He  wore  a 
full  beard  sprinkled  with  grey,  as  was  also  his  long 
dark  hair  which  hung  nearly  to  his  shoulders.  He 
had  a  full,  plethoric  face,  firm  jaw  and  aquiline  nose. 
His  deep  set,  piercing  grey  eyes  looked  out  from  be 
neath  heavy,  black,  overhanging  eyebrows.  The  large 
mouth  with  full,  sensual  lips,  exposed,  when  he 
smiled,  a  handsome  set  of  strong  white  teeth,  per 
fectly  formed.  To  outward  appearances  he  was  al 
ways  cool  even  when  angered;  and  was  usually  in 
dulgent  to  wives  and  children  in  anything  that  did 
not  affect  his  purse  or  thwart  him  in  his  pursuit  of 
wives  and  riches ;  but  let  anyone  dare  to  oppose  him 
along  these  lines  and  such  an  one  would  find  him  un 
scrupulous,  cruel  and  dangerous.  Withall  he  was  a 
man  whose  general  appearance  would  give  him  rank 
in  any  company  of  men  as  a  personality  to  be  con 
sidered. 

I  consider  myself,  up  to  the  time  I  broke  away 
from  the  faith,  a  fair  type  of  what  is  called  a  good 
Mormon.  I  was  honest,  with  health  of  mind  and 
body,  industrious,  and  innocent  of  what  are  called 
"bad  habits."  This  much  must  be  said  in  favor  of 
the  Mormons — they  actually  practice  their  beliefs, 
which  is  more,  I  regret  to  say,  than  do  most  of  the 
Christians  I  have  met.  They  do  not  "waste  their 
substance  in  riotous  living,"  being  total  abstainers 
from  alcoholics  and  narcotics,  and  teaching,  and  in 
most  instances  practicing  stoicism  in  regard  to 
health.  It  is  a  common  maxim  in  every  Mormon 
household,  that  if  one  does  an  act  which  will  in  any 
way  tend  to  injure  one's  health,  one  is  "breaking 
the  word  of  wisdom."  Thus  coffee  and  tea  are  ta 
booed  as  is  any  other  food  that  is  known  to  be  in- 

4 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

jurious,  however  palatable.  The  family  and  social 
life  is  democratic  in  every  particular.  A  hired 
maid-servant  is  treated  with  the  same  consideration, 
and  given  the  same  privileges  as  a  member  of  the 
family.  All  Mormons  are  lovers  of  music  and  are 
fond  of  dancing  and  social  events  of  all  kinds,  which 
is  evidenced  today  by  the  prosperity  of  the  many 
dance  halls,  theatres  and  music  stores  of  Salt  Lake 
City. 

Mormonism,  as  taught  to  me  by  my  mother, 
seemed  to  me  then,  and  for  many  years,  the  embodi 
ment  of  all  things  holy  and  divine.  In  fact,  I  knew 
very  little  of  other  religions  except  in  a  general  way, 
I  was  taught  that  the  world  at  large,  outside  of  thej 
"faith"  was  heathen;  that  Salt  Lake  was  the  largest' 
and  most  beautiful  city  in  the  world ;  and  that  I 
was  of  the  chosen,  living  in  the  "Promised  Land," 
waiting  for  a  short  time  to  be  brought  directly  to 
heaven,  there  to  reign  as  a  God,  shining  in  rank, 
power,  and  divine  favor,  in  accordance  with  the 
number  of  wives  I  supported  on  earth,  and  the  man 
ner  in  which  I  lived  up  to  the  "doctrine."  As  I  grew 
up  I  became  ardent  in  the  faith  with  the  energy  of 
my  father,  without  his  dishonesty,  thank  God,  and 
with  the  emotional  zeal  of  my  mother.  Henry 
Lorenzo  was  president  of  the  Granite  Stake,  a  mem 
ber  of  the  seventies,  and  an  apostle.  Consequently 
when  I  began  to  evidence  marked  zeal  in  the  work 
of  the  church,  as  his  offspring,  I  was,  of  course,  put 
to  the  front.  It  was  not  until  a  comparatively  recent 
date  that  the  Mormons  favored  education.  In  fact, 
in  the  early  days  it  was  suppressed.  The  children 
were  taught  the  fundamentals  of  arithmetic  and 
reading  and  writing  fey  their  parents,  which  was  the 
extent  of  education.  Public  speaking  was  in  high 
favor  and  natural  oratory  highly  developed.  Hence, 

5 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

at  the  age  of  eighteen  I  had  "lifted  my  voice  in 
meeting"  and  delivered  what  seemed  to  my  fond 
mother  and  me,  a  soul  stirring  oration;  certainly  it 
was  impassioned. 

I  worked  on  the  farm,  doing  the  same  work  as 
the  hired  men,  as  soon  as  I  was  strong  enough,  and 
received  no  recompense  save  clothing  and  a  living. 
The  father  of  a  Mormon  family  does  not  hesitate 
to  exploit  the  labor  of  his  children  and  wives.  Indeed 
it  is  one  of  his  greatest  assets. 

I  was  taught  that  the  United  States  Government 
was  a  tyrannical,  heathen  institution  to  be  thwarted, 
hated,  and  some  day  destroyed ;  that  it  had  murdered 
the  divine  Joseph  Smith,  and  had  always  persecuted 
the  faithful  and  Godly.  I  never  saw  the  New  Testa 
ment  until  I  had  broken  from  the  Mormon  faith,  as 
it  is  but  a  minor  incident  in  the  Mormon  teaching, 
but  I,  like  all  Mormons,  knew  the  book  of  Mormon 
and  "The  Pearl  of  the  Covenant"  as  intimately  as 
Christian  youngsters  know  the  story  of  Joseph  and 
his  coat  of  many  colors.  This  was  the  environment 
of  my  youth,  and  nothing  was  brought  to  my  mind 
that  would  challenge  the  divinity  of  the  system  until 
I  reached  manhood. 


CHAPTER  II. 

IN  the  little  family  circle,  composed  of  mother, 
sister  Ruth  and  me,  life  was  peaceful  and  free  from 
discord.  But  Henry  Lorenzo  found  difficulty  which 
called  forth  the  exercise  of  all  his  diplomacy  in  keep 
ing  his  less  spiritually  minded  wives  from  quarrel 
ing.  This  was  especially  true  of  those  who  had  per 
sonal  charms  and  influence  with  him;  each  tried  to 
obtain  the  most  favors  and  good  things  for  herself 
and  children.  There  was  seldom  an  open  break,  but 
always  an  undercurrent  of  strife  and  jealousy. 

I  recall  the  advent  of  the  seventh  wife  when  I 
was  about  fourteen  years  old,  which  caused  a  dis 
turbance  that  was  common.  He  installed  the  new 
"star"  in  a  new  addition,  furnished  in  a  man 
ner  considered  sumptuous  in  our  community,  and 
provided  her  with  a  horse  and  carriage  for  her 
exclusive  use.  No  comment  was  made  as  to  the 
apartments,  but  the  horse  and  wagon  caused  the 
undercurrent  to  appear  on  the  surface  in  the  shape 
of  a  violent  domestic  storm,  owing  to  the  jealousy  of 
the  hitherto  favorite  wife.  She  came  to  our  apart 
ments  in  a  rage  to  pour  out  her  troubles,  as  she  knew 
that  mother  was  the  only  one  not  glad  to  see  her 
shorn  of  her  power  with  the  Lord  of  the  household. 
It  happened  that  he  came  in  before  mother  calmed 
her,  and  a  stormy  scene  ensued.  Joseph  assumed  his 
best  patriarchal  dignity  and  evidently  expected  to 
put  an  end  to  the  matter  with  a  stern  look  and  a 
few  quotations  from  the  book  of  Mormon.  He  was 

7 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

unable,  however,  to  lay  hold  offhand  on  a  passage 
that  warranted  this  providing  one  wife  with  a  pri 
vate  carriage  while  the  others  walked,  or  rode  with 
the  whole  family,  if  I  may  call  our  multitudinous 
household  such;  so  he  resorted  to  the  never  failing 
threat,  that  it  was  only  by  his  consent,  that  she  or 
any  of  his  wives  could  hope  to  enjoy  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  She  retorted  that  she  would  rather  smoul 
der  in  h than  see  the  new  wife  enjoying  a  private 

carriage  while  she  walked,  and  went  out  slamming 
the  door.  She  never  regained  favor,  and  it  is  safe 
to  say,  that  she  is  not  one  of  his  consorts  in  the 
world  to  come,  if  he  has  anything  to  say  about  it. 

My  first  real  adventure,  arising  out  of  the  faith, 
occurred  when  I  was  a  lad  of  fourteen.  One  evening 
I  was  at  a  dance  in  the  Stake  house  and  had  gone 
outside  partly  because  I  wanted  to  enjoy  a  breath  of 
air,  and  partly  because  I  was  jealous  of  rny  oldest 
half-brother,  who  was  dancing  with  a  girl  over  whom 
I  was  having  my  first  attack  of  love  sickness.  It 
was  a  warm  evening  in  the  early  fall,  and,  seating 
myself  on  the  ground  with  my  back  against  a  tree, 
I  proceeded  to  nurse  my  wounded  heart,  and  to  plan 
some  deed  of  valor  that  would  call  the  attention  of 
the  lady  of  my  desires  to  my  superior  qualities.  I 
noticed  two  men  seated  in  a  wagon  standing  near, 
talking  in  low  tones  and  thought  I  recognized  two 
gentile  cattle  buyers  who  had  been  at  the  farm  the 
day  before  to  buy  cattle.  I  was  in  no  mood  for 
company  and  continued  to  nurse  my  wounded  feel 
ings,  and  to  plan  some  feat  of  daring,  some  deed  of 
valor  that  would  cause  all  "Zion,"  and  incidentally, 
a  ^articular  young  lady,  to  wonder.  I  had  been  occu 
pied  with  such  thoughts  for  perhaps  ten  minutes, 
when  I  caught  a  remark  of  one  of  the  strangers  that 
caused  me  to  listen  to  them,  tense  with  interest. 

8 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

"L.  D.  S.,  Latter  Day  Saints !  Look  at  old  Hank 
Lorenzo.  Do  you  know  what  L.  D.  S.  stands  for  as 
far  as  he  is  concerned  ?  I'll  tell  you :  'Lorenzo  draws 
the  spoils/  Why,  the  old  cuss  has  money  enough  to 
buy  the  biggest  ranch  west  of  the  Mississippi  River; 
and  if  he  keeps  on  corraling  wives  he'll  soon  have 
enough  human  live-stock  to  graze  it  down.  Did  you 
see  the  old  Turk  patting  that  little  fifteen  year  old 
girl  on  her  pretty  blonde  head  just  as  we  came  out? 
Hank  has  a  weakness  for  blondes.  I'll  bet  my  profits 
on  this  trip  against  your  old  felt  hat,  that  it  will  be 
revealed  to  Hank  inside  of  a  year,  that  it  is  the 
Lord's  will  that  she  should  brighten  up  his  crown  a 
bit,  and  if  there's  any  kicking,  some  one  will  stand  a 
fine  chance  of  being  'blood  atoned.'  " 

"Go  easy;  hold  that  bull's  bellow  of  yours,"  the 
other  stranger  cautioned.  "If  some  'saint'  hears  you 
you  will  .stand  as  good  a  chance  for  the  atonement 
job  as  anyone." 

How  dared  these  men  speak  thus  of  God's  chosen 
people!  I  was  paralyzed  with  anger  and  astonish 
ment. 

The  first  speaker  continued  in  a  more  subdued  tone. 
"The  old  rascal  is  a  mixture  of  fox,  billy  goat  and 
grizzly  bear,  with  a  man's  body.  He  is  an  old  timer 
— I  have  heard  it  pretty  straight  that  he  was  the  one 
that  planned  the  'Mountain  Meadow  Massacre,' 
and  he  sure  looks  like  he  would  be  up  to  such  tricks." 

His  companion  was  uneasy  and  got  out  of  the 
wagon,  grumbling  something  unintelligible.  The  first 
speaker  stretched  his  long  limbs  lazily  and  followed. 
My  anger  was  at  the  boiling  point  and  it  suddenly 
occurred  to  me  that  this  was  the  opportunity  I  was 
longing  for,  that  God  had  sent  these  men  that  I 
might  have  an  opportunity  to  prove  my  devotion  to 
the  faith,  and  winxa  place  in  His  favor  and  in  the 

9 


JN    THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

sight  of  man.  With  the  rashness  of  youth  and  the 
strength  of  anger  upon  me,  I  sprang  to  my  feet  and 
confronted  the  strangers  with  clinched  fists,  and 
glared  at  the  face  of  the  man  who  had  dared  to  speak 
slightingly  of  the  things  I  held  holy  and  sacred. 
They  were  evidently  surprised,  to  put  it  mildly;  and 
even  in  the  dim  moonlight  I  could  see  that  they  were 
considerably  perturbed. 

"What's  biting  you,  sonny?"  drawled  the  one  who 
had  done  the  talking. 

I  do  not  know  what  I  hoped  to  accomplish  alone 
and  single-handed  against  two  full  grown  men,  but 
with  no  thought  of  consequences,  I  sprang  at  him, 
vainly  endeavoring  to  strike  him  in  the  face. 

He  grasped  me  by  the  front  of  my  shirt  and  easily 
held  me  at  a  safe  distance,  saying,  "Easy  boy,  you'll 
hurt  yourself." 

I  began  to  bite,  kick  and  scratch  in  impotent  fury. 
The  other  man  caught  my  hands  and  said  sooth 
ingly  :  "What's  the  matter,  boy,  are  you  crazy  ?"  and 
to  his  partner:  "You  have  stirred  this  young  whelp 
up  and  he  will  have  the  whole  pack  on  us  in  a  min 
ute,  and  we'll  be  in  a  fine  mess." 

For  the  first  time  it  occurred  to  me  to  call  for 
help,  but  exaggerated  boyish  pride  came  with  the 
thought.  All  this  occurred  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
Stake  House  where  the  dance  was  going  merrily 
forward.  I  struggled  desperately,  and  evidently 
thinking  I  would  cry  out,  one  of  them  put  his  hand 
roughly  over  my  mouth.  I  prayed  silently  as  I 
struggled,  that  the  Lord  might  give  me  strength  even 
as  he  did  David  of  old,  so  I  might  conquer  and  anni 
hilate  these  ungodly  giants.  The  hand  on  my  mouth 
almost  suffocated  me.  I  succeeded  in  getting  a  hold 
on  it  with  my  teeth  and  bit  deep  with  the  strength 
of  fury.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  man  I  bit 

10 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

struck  me  or  hurled  me  against  the  wagon.  I  have 
a  dim  recollection  of  a  shock,  and  remember  nothing 
until  I  came  to  consciousness,  lying  on  the  ground 
near  the  wagon.  At  first  I  did  not  know  where  I 
was,  but  the  sound  of  music  and  dancing  quickly 
brought  the  realization  of  what  had  occurred.  I  was 
weak,  sick,  and  trembling.  All  the  fight  had  gone  out 
of  me  leaving  me  as  frightened  as  though  I  had 
wakened  from  a  nightmare.  I  was  conscious  of  a 
dull  ache  in  the  back  of  my  head  and  felt  there  ex 
pecting  to  find  it  wet  with  blood,  and  was  relieved  to 
find  only  a  good-sized  lump.  I  stood  up  and  started 
to  go  into  the  Stake  House  but  changed  my  mind  and 
directed  my  steps  homeward. 

I  found  mother  up  working  over  her  carpet  loom. 
She  was  shocked  at  my  appearance,  which  clearly  in 
dicated  fighting,  of  which  I  had  oftentimes  been 
guilty.  She  said  nothing  as  it  was  her  custom  (not 
prevalent  among  mothers)  to  pass  judgment  after 
she  had  learned  the  facts.  When  she  had  heard  my 
story  she  kissed  me,  and  set  about  administering  all 
the  home  remedies  available.  By  that  time  the  wagon- 
load  of  people  from  our  house  who  had  been  at  the 
dance  drove  up,  and  mother  called  Henry  Lorenzo 
that  she  might  communicate  something  of  impor 
tance  to  him.  I  heard  him  ask  if  I  had  returned, 
as  they  had  missed  me,  and  knew  he  was  coming 
with  reluctance,  fearing,  no  doubt,  that  mother  want 
ed  to  discuss  some  point  of  faith,  as  she  often  did  at 
any  hour,  if  troubled  over  some  problem.  He  was 
very  much  surprised  at  my  story,  and  I  think  he 
would  have  discredited  it  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
sudden  disappearance  of  the  cattle-buyers,  who  were 
the  guests  of  a  neighbor.  He  administered  a  rebuke 
for  my  failing  to  come  quickly  to  him  and  tell  him 
what  I  had  heard — tempered  with  a  compliment  for 

II 


IN  THE  DAYS  OF  BRIG  HAM  YOUNG 

my  zealous  defense  of  him  and  the  faith,  and  prom 
ised  to  take  me  to  town  the  next  day  to  a  celebration, 
as  a  reward  for  my  action. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  next  day  found  me  feeling  as  well  as  ever, 
save  for  a  tender  lump  on  the  back  of  my  head  and  a 
general  stiffness.  I  was  up  even  earlier  than  usual, 
and  set  about  my  "chores"  with  vim.  The  prospect 
of  going  to  Salt  Lake  with  Henry  Lorenzo  to  a  cele 
bration  appealed  to  me  very  strongly,  not  because  I 
looked  up  to  him  with  the  admiration  and  affection 
that  boys  of  my  age  usually  entertain  for  their  fa 
thers,  as  there  had  never  existed  the  close  relation  of 
parent  and  child  between  us.  He  always  treated  his 
children  with  the  same  indifference  he  did  the  hired 
help.  I  looked  up  to  him  much  as  I  did  to  all  grown 
men,  with  more  awe  and  respect  perhaps,  since  his 
was  a  personality  that  commanded  it. 

I  had  heard  nothing  of  a  celebration  and  was 
curious  to  learn  the  cause,  for  there  is  but  one  holi 
day  really  celebrated  by  the  Mormons — Emigration 
Day,  which  falls  in  the  latter  part  of  July.  It  is  the 
anniversary  of  the  arrival  of  the  "faithful"  into  the 
"promised  land,"  and  is  the  Mormon  Christmas, 
Thanksgiving  and  Fourth  of  July  all  wrapped  up 
into  one.  Hence,  I  consulted  Moab  Snow,  whom  I 
found  currying-  the  horses  in  the  barn.  Moab  was 
strong  in  the  faith.  He  had  been  among  the  "per 
secuted"  that  had  fled  from  Navoo  and  had  suffered 
much  for  his  devotion  both  physically  and  financially. 
He  was  now  earning  his  living  as  Henry  Lorenzo's 
right  hand  man.  He  had  been  more  like  a  father 
to  me  than  Henry  Lorenzo.  There  was  a  strong 

13 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF  BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

bond  of  sympathy  between  us,  due  to  the  fact  that 
we  both  felt  intensely  the  wrongs  we  believed  had 
been  done  our  people.  My  trend  of  thought  and 
opinions,  aside  from  mother's  teachings,  had  been 
moulded  largely  by  him.  I  looked  forward  eagerly 
to  the  time  when  I  would  be  old  enough  to  become 
a  member  of  the  "Lions  of  the  Lord,"  a  secret  or 
ganization  which  worked  the  will  of  the  church  in 
those  matters  which  it  dared  not  accomplish  pub 
licly,  and  of  which  Moab  was  a  prominent  member. 

I  had  forgotten,  for  the  time  being,  my  adventure 
of  the  previous  night,  so  engrossed  was  I  with 
the  prospect  of  my  trip  to  town.  That  Moab  was  not 
in  a  very  good  humor  was  clearly  evident  from  the 
fact  that  his  old  slouch  hat  was  pulled  as  far  down 
over  his  eyes  as  was  possible,  and  yet  give  him  suffi 
cient  scope  of  vision  to  work.  When  in  a  good 
humor,  his  hat  was  always  pushed  far  back  on  his 
head,  exposing-  a  high  narrow  forehead  and  deep- 
set,  grey  eyes,  sparsely  adorned  with  colorless  eye 
brows  and  lashes.  On  these  occasions,  his  weather- 
beaten  face  was  lighted  up  with  the  semblance  of  a 
smile.  His  six  feet  of  muscular  bony  body  was  bent 
to  the  task  of  vigorously  currying  the  mud  from  the 
roan  mare's  front  feet.  Without  so  much  as  a  good 
morning,  I  eagerly  inquired  if  he  knew  the  cause  of 
the  celebration  in  the  city  that  day,  and  what  it  was 
going  to  be  like.  Moab  stopped  working,  sat  down  in 
the  tedding  of  the  box  stall,  and  pushed  his  hat  back 
a  little,  which  told  me  the  subject  was  a  pleasing  one. 

"The  children  of  Zion,"  quoth  he,  "are  going  to 

give  the  persecuted  and  saintly  Prophet  K a 

turnout  in  honor  of  his  being  let  out  of  the  cursed, 
gentile  prison  where  he  has  been  for  the  past  three 
months.  Why?  Because  he  was,  and  is,  a  zealous 
worker  in  God's  Kingdom;  because  he  followed  the 

14 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

Word  of  the  Lord  as  revealed;  and  took  unto  him 
self  many  wives,  that  the  children  of  Zion  might 
increase,  and  his  crown  be  bright  in  the  world  to 
come." 

Moab  was  in  a  mood  for  a  lengthy  discourse  and 
continued  to  rail  at  the  iniquity  of  the  accursed  Phil 
istines.  I  was  in  too  great  a  state  of  excitement  to 
give  much  heed,  and  soon  escaped  to  my  waiting 
breakfast. 

My  ever-thoughtful  mother  had  put  my  best  clothes 
in  a  presentable  condition  again,  and  I  was  soon 
washed,  dressed,  and  in  a  position  where  Henry 
Lorenzo  could  not  fail  to  see  me  in  my  unusual  at 
tire,  thus  obviating  the  possibility  of  his  forgetting 
his  promise  to  take  me  with  him.  Moab  hitched  the 
mustangs  to  the  democrat  wagon  and  I  drove  them 
proudly  to  the  stepping  stone.  Henry  greeted  me 
with  unusual  affability,  taking  a  seat  beside  me  and 
relieving  me  of  the  reins,  much  to  my  disappoint 
ment,  as  I  had  hoped  to  do  the  driving  myself.  We 
were  soon  joined  by  his  two  favorite  wives.  One, 
a  Swedish  girl  scarcely  out  of  her  teens,  was  good  to 
look  at  and  pleasing  in  conversation.  The  other  was 
an  attractive  blonde,  who  carried  herself  and  dressed 
with  an  air  that  I  have  since  learned  to  associate 
with  women  who  earn  their  living  on  the  stage.  Af 
ter  driving  in  silence  a  few  minutes,  Henry  asked 
me  to  repeat  the  story  of  my  adventure  of  the  pre 
vious  night.  He  listened  in  grim  silence,  but  with  an 
expression  that  boded  ill  for  my  opponents  if  they 
should  ever  come  into  his  power.  I  was  too  honest 
and  unsophisticated  to  omit  anything  they  had  said, 
and,  boy  that  I  was,  I  felt  vaguely  that  their  remarks 
regarding  his  preference  for  the  little  blonde,  and 
their  prediction  as  to  consequent  revelation,  struck 
home,  and  that  it  was  this,  rather  than  their  treat- 

15 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

ment  of  me,  or  the  affront  to  our  religion,  that 
angered  him.  I  longed  to  ask  him  if  he  would  have 
them  "blood  atoned,"  and  why  he  did  not  arouse  the 
neighborhood  the  night  before  and  follow  them.  I 
ventured  to  question  him  concerning  the  latter,  and 
he  said  he  would  leave  their  punishment  to  the  Lord, 
at  the  same  time  whipping  up  the  horses  in  a  man 
ner  that  told  me  the  subject  was  dropped. 

Our  fleet  mustangs  overtook  several  other  convey 
ances  of  various  descriptions,  all  loaded  to  their  ut 
most  capacity  with  people  in  gala  attire.  Evidently 
the  news  had  spread  by  the  "grape  vine  telegraph," 
and  this  was  to  be  a  day  of  general  festivity.  We 
drove  up  what  is  now  State  Street,  then  only  a 
wide  and  exceedingly  muddy  road,  to  the  tithing 
house.  This  was  exactly  like  one  of  our  eastern  mar 
kets,  except  that  the  farmers  brought  here,  one- 
tenth  of  all  they  produced  and  gave  it  to  the  church. 
The  magnificent  new  Utah  Hotel,  which  cost  up 
wards  of  a  million  dollars,  now  stands  where  the 
tithing  house  then  stood.  This  structure  was  built 
no  doubt  out  of  the  princely  revenue  that  poured  in 
to  the  coffers  of  the  church  from  the  less  pretentious 
tithing  house,  which  was  abolished  when  currency 
came  into  more  common  use.  We  put  our  team  in  the 
tithing  house  shed  and  Henry  betook  himself  to  the 
Bee  Hive  house,  the  home  of  Brigham  Young.  He 
left  his  wives  and  me  to  our  own  devices;  but  with 
instructions  to  meet  him  at  the  Gift  House  for  din 
ner.  His  wives,  nothing  loath,  started  on  a  shop 
ping  tour,  leaving  me  to  amuse  myself  in  my  own 
way. 

It  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  been  in  the  city 
alone,  and  I  walked  down  Main  Street  with  consid 
erable  pride  and  not  a  little  trepidation,  on  the  look 
out  for  a  peanut  vendor,  as  I  fingered  a  ten  cent 

16 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

piece,  given  me  by  my  mother.  I  was  soon  minus  the 
ten  cents  and  the  possessor  of  a  small  bag  of  choco 
lates  and  another  of  peanuts,  which  the  genial  mer 
chant  loudly  proclaimed  to  be  fresh  and  hot  roasted. 
I  returned  to  the  shed  to  enjoy  my  feast  in  privacy 
and  was  very  agreeably  surprised  to  find  Moab 
hitching  the  roan  mare.  We  sought  out  the  Mrs. 
Lorenzo,  seventh  and  eighth,  and  told  them  we 
would  not  join  them  again  until  time  to  go  home. 
Moab  and  I  spent  the  remainder  of  the  morning  in 
Zion's  Co-operative  Mercantile  Institution,  inspecting 
the  latest  devices  in  farm  machinery.  We  ate  lunch 
at  the  tithing  house  lunch-room. 

By  twelve-thirty,  a  nondescript  array  of  vehicles 
had  lined  up  on  what  is  now  Temple  Street,  and 
reached  from  the  Bee  Hive  House  several  Salt  Lake 
blocks.  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  not  fa 
miliar  with  "Zion,"  it  might  be  well  to  mention  that 
these  blocks  each  comprise  ten  acres,  and  each  was 
originally  designed  as  a  farm.  The  conveyances 
varied  greatly  in  style  and  equipment.  Nearly  every 
conceivable  kind  was  in  evidence,  from  Brigham 
Young's  handsome  coach  and  four,  to  a  prairie 
schooner  driven  by  mules.  Everyone  was  in  good 
humor  and  every  outfit  loaded  to  its  full  capacity. 
A  band  marched  up,  playing  a  favorite  Mormon 
hymn  and  took  its  place  ahead  of  Brigham  Young's 
carriage.  At  this  juncture,  Brigham,  accompanied 
by  his  favorite  wife  Amelia,  appeared  from  the 
Amelia  Palace,  and  took  his  place  in  the  carriage  at 
the  head  of  the  line.  He  was  a  man  of  striking  ap 
pearance,  with  a  face  and  beard  which  reminded 
one  of  General  Grant's  pictures.  He  carried  himself 
with  a  splendid  modest  dignity,  and,  even  to  a 
casual  observer,  he  bore  all  the  earmarks  of  a  leader 
of  men.  At  a  word  from  him  the  parade  started. 

17 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

Moab  had  taken  me  up  in  front  of  him  on  the 
roan's  back,  and  we  cantered  briskly  along  beside  the 
parade.  I  watched  the  faces  of  the  people  that 
thronged  the  sidewalk.  Suddenly  I  caught  sight  of 
my  opponents  of  the  previous  night,  and  without  a 
thought  as  to  consequences,  I  attempted  to  dismount 
and  would  have  fallen  on  my  head  had  not  Moab 
seized  me  by  the  collar  with  one  hand,  and  brought 
the  horse  up  short  with  the  other.  He  held  me 
firmly  by  the  collar,  while  I  gaspingly  shouted:  "I 
saw  them !"  I  had  told  Moab  of  my  adventure  while 
we  ate  lunch,  and  it  finally  dawned  on  him  that  I 
had  seen  my  acquaintances  of  the  previous  evening. 
By  that  time  they  had  disappeared  in  the  crowd. 
Moab  berated  me  soundly  for  my  foolishness  in  try 
ing  to  dismount  as  I  did,  and  asked  me  what  I  in 
tended  to  do  had  I  overtaken  them.  I  could  not  an 
swer,  but  I  felt  that  I  would  have  attacked  them 
again. 

No  one  paid  any  attention  to  us,  and  soon  we  were 
again  following  the  parade,  which  had  begun  to  sing 
the  hymn  the  band  was  playing.  Arriving  at  the 
penitentiary,  which  is  about  three  miles  from  the 
Bee  Hive  House,  the  line  righted  about,  and  faced 
the  homeward  journey,  with  the  band  and  Brigham 
still  at  the  head.  Accompanied  by  his  last  and  fa 
vorite  wife  the  hero  soon  appeared  taking  his  seat 
in  the  carriage  amid  the  acclaim  of  the  multitude. 
Then  Brigham  Young  permitted  an  act  of  folly 
which  seemed  to  be  entirely  out  of  keeping  with  his 
usual  diplomatic  and  cautious  methods.  He  allowed 
someone  to  fasten  the  Stars  and  Stripes  to  the  axle 
of  his  carriage,  where  it  would  trail  in  the  mud,  to 
the  great  delight  of  Moab  and  the  crowd  generally. 
I  have  since  learned  to  love  and  revere  the  flag,  and 
even  then  the  sight  of  the  bright  banner  trailing  in 

18 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

the  dirt  was  very  repugnant  to  me.  It  filled  me 
with  a  mild  sense  of  shame  for  my  people  who  were 
insulting  it,  when  the  people  who  loved  it  were  not 
there  to  resent  it.  I  heard  my  father  tell  Brigham 
that  it  would  bring  the  soldiers  down  on  us,  but  he 

only  laughed  and  said:  "Old  Captain  G is  in  a 

drunken  sleep  at  this  hour  of  the  day,  and  no  one  up 
there  dares  to  do  anything  without  orders  from  him, 
even  to  wake  him." 

As  the  carriage,  with  the  trailing  flag,  passed  us, 
Moab  leaned  over  and  spit  on  it,  shouting:  "Down 
with  the  persecutors!  Long  live  Zion,"  and  his  ex 
ample  was  quickly  and  enthusiastically  followed  by 
the  people  on  foot.  All  the  way  to  the  city,  they  vied 
with  each  other,  each  trying  to  find  something  more 
filthy  than  the  other  to  hurl  at  the  unoffending  and 
now  almost  unrecognizable  emblem.  Retribution 
was  at  hand,  however.  Someone  had  just  hurled  a 
particularly  vile  object  at  the  trailing  flag,  which 
Drought  forth  cheers  and  laughter,  when  a  troop  of 
cavalry  came  suddenly  around  a  corner  and  swooped 
down  upon  us.  They  halted  a  dozen  paces  in  front 
of  the  band  and  came  to  attention  at  a  sharp  word  of 
command  from  a  stern,  red-faced  officer  who  quickly 
dismounted  and  strode  toward  the  carriage  occupied 
by  Young.  The  latter  alighted  with  hat  in  one  hand 
and  extended  the  other  to  the  officer,  saying  that  it 
was  an  agreeable  surprise  to  have  the  Captain  and 
his  troop  join  them  in  their  little  celebration  over  the 
release  of  their  brother,  who  had  been  discharged 
and  purified  from  any  offense  he  might  have  com 
mitted  against  the  government,  which  the  gallant 
Captain  represented.  The  officer  ignored  the  ex 
tended  hand,  and  demanded  the  meaning  of  the  riot 
ous  demonstration.  Young  started  to  deprecate 
the  officer's  terming  their  innocent  pleasure  at  the 

19 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

release  of  their  unfortunate  brother  riotous  con 
duct,  when  a  rough  looking  man  in  the  garb  usually 
worn  by  prospectors,  with  a  G.  A.  R.  button  in  the 
lapel  of  his  coat,  stepped  from  the  crowd  on  the 
sidewalk.  He  came  to  attention,  saluted  the  officer, 
and  asked  him  to  look  at  the  flag  trailing  in  the  mud. 
The  Captain  turned  and  for  the  first  time  saw  the 
insulted  emblem.  He  sprang  aside,  shouting  to  his 
troop:  "Ready!  Aim!"  Instantly  the  parade  was 
transformed  into  a  screaming  mob.  Women  fainted, 
children  cried  and  men  swore.  All  was  reduced  to 
a  wild  disorder. 

Brigham  Young  then  proved  himself  the  master  of 
a  difficult  situation.  With  perfect  coolness,  he 
turned  his  back  on  the  officer,  who  had  himself 
covered  Young,  and  kneeling  in  the  mud  with  his 
hand  extended  to  the  heavens,  prayed  in  stentorian 
tones,  as  coolly  as  though  he  were  in  some  remote  and 
peaceful  stake  house.  The  people  on  the  sidewalks 
had  scattered  as  if  by  magic,  running  wildly  in  every 
direction.  The  ones  nearest  the  soldiers  were  trying 
to  hide  from  the  line  of  fire  in  the  most  ridiculous 
manner,  some  behind  their  horses,  some  under  the 
wagons,  and  one  fat,  bewhiskered  old  apostle,  seized 
a  bundle  of  hay  from  his  wagon,  and  throwing  it 
on  the  ground  hid  behind  it,  shouting:  "I  didn't  do 
it!  Don't  shoot!  Don't  shoot!"  Moab  had  forced 
his  horse  up  close  to  the  officer  and  was  covertly  cov 
ering  him  with  a  six-shooter.  The  commotion  lasted 
but  a  minute,  when  it  subsided  as  quickly  as  it  be 
gan,  save  for  the  pattering  of  distant  feet  and  the  oc 
casional  hysterical  scream  of  some  female. 

"Thy  will  be  done,  Oh  Lord !"  the  voice  of  Brig- 
ham  was  interrupted  by  the  stern  command  of  the 
officer. 

"While  you   are   down   there,   apologize  to   that 
20 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

flag,  you  d — d  old  hypocrite,  or  I'll  blow  you,  your 
concubines,  and  your  whole  outfit  into  h —  where  you 
belong !" 

"If  you  will  allow  me  first  to  speak  a  few  words 
to  my  people,  your  every  wish  shall  be  carried  out." 

The  officer  hesitated  a  moment,  but,  influenced  by 
curiosity  or  the  cool  tone,  which  was  almost  a  com 
mand,  said :  "Go  ahead,  but  be  brief  and  careful." 

"It  is  the  Lord's  will  that  the  Saints  again  submit 
to  humiliation  at  the  hands  of  the  ungodly,"  and  he 
started  to  rise. 

"Stay  where  you  are,"  ordered  the  officer,  "and 
ask  the  Lord  to  forgive  you  for  the  insults  you  have 
offered  to  the  United  States  flag." 

I  could  not  hear  what  Young  said,  as  he  lowered 
his  voice.  At  the  officer's  command  a  tub  of  water 
was  quickly  provided,  and  Young  was  forced  to  wash 
the  bedraggled  banner.  With  an  imprecation  which 
sounded  very  much  like  an  oath,  Moab  whirled  his 
horse  about,  and,  clapping  his  spurs  to  her  sides 
started  to  galloo  away,  when  the  officer  cried: 
"Halt!" 

Moab  obeyed  quickly  as  there  was  something  in 
the  voice  of  the  Captain  that  spelled  death  to  dis 
obedience.  "Corporal,  take  this  fellow  into  cus 
tody  We  will  teach  him  to  be  careful  how  he  draws 
a  gun  on  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Army,  even 
if  he  has  not  the  courage  to  do  it  openly." 

We  slept  in  the  guard-house  that  night. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1  will  not  dwell  on  my  brief  imprisonment.  Suf 
fice  to  say  that  I  was  brought  to  the  Captain's  quar 
ters  the  next  morning  where  I  found  Henry  and 
mother  waiting  for  me.  The  Captain  had  taken  it 
for  granted  that  I  was  Moab's  son,  and,  not  know 
ing  what  else  to  do  with  me  had  held  me. 

"You  allow  your  son  to  keep  strange  company, 
sir,"  he  said  to  father.  "See  that  he  is  not  found  in 
such  a  situation  again." 

During  the  night  Moab  had  repeated  his  very 
biased  story  of  the  wrongs  the  "Saints"  had  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  the  government;  how  our  people  had 
been  driven  out  of  the  east,  many  of  them  scattered, 
not  a  few  of  them  murdered,  and  their  property  con 
fiscated;  how  the  "Saints"  had  hoped  that  on  the 
desert,  which,  through  indomitable  courage,  perse 
verance,  and  energy,  they  had  caused  to  yield  as 
abundantly  as  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  they  would 
be  free  to  live  as  God  willed  they  should,  through 
His  revelations;  and  how  the  gentiles  had  come 
again  with  their  man-made  laws  and  evil  ways  to 
persecute  and  destroy  us. 

I  was  a  stranger  to  timidity,  due,  no  doubt,  to  my 
being  trained  to  speak  in  public,  and  now,  fairly 
bursting  with  indignation  at  the  Captain's  slighting 
reference  to  Moab,  I  poured  forth,  in  unqualified 
terms  my  opinion  of  the  Captain  and  the  govern 
ment  he  served.  When  I  finished  I  looked  to  Henry 

22 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

and  my  mother  for  encouragement  and  was  abashed 
to  note  cold  disapproval  indicated  in  Henry's  de 
meanor,  but  relieved  and  cheered  to  find  my  mother 
beaming  with  pride  and  pleasure. 

"Sir/'  said  the  Captain,  "this  child  has  spoken,  in 
his  childish  simplicity,  what  is  in  the  hearts  of  all 
your  people.  He  is  the  first,  however,  who  has  had 
the  courage  to  speak  the  truth  to  an  officer  of  the 
government,  since  this  troop  of  soldiers  has  been 
stationed  here,  with  a  battery  trained  on  your  city. 
His  remarks  have  made  a  deep  impression  on  me, 
and  I  now  understand  the  brand  of  patriotism  you 
are  teaching  your  children." 

He  approached  me  and  would  have  patted  me  on 
the  shoulder  had  I  not  stepped  aside,  still  very  angry 
and  defiant,  and  in  no  mood  to  be  patronized  by  this 
man  of  evil.  Nevertheless  I  was  attracted,  in  spite 
of  myself,  by  his  winning  smile  as  he  looked  keenly 
at  me  and  said :  "You  are  a  bright,  courageous  child, 
and  I  hope  that  some  day  when  you  have  reached 
intelligent  manhood  the  truth  of  the  crime  that  has 
been  committed  against  you  will  be  apparent  to  you." 
Then  to  Henry :  "Old  man,  you  are  too  far  advanced 
in  years  to  have  been  born  into  this  system  of  lust 
and  greed,  and  too  intelligent  to  have  accepted  the 
so-called  revelations  of  Joe  Smith  for  anything  but 
distinctly  mercenary  and  carnal  reasons,  and  be  as 
sured  I  will  watch  you  and  your  stripe.  You  have 
come  well  out  of  the  treasonable  demonstration  of 
yesterday,  but  I  warn  you,  as  I  did  that  old  villain, 
Young,  that  I  will  scatter  you  to  the  four  corners  of 
the  earth,  if  you  indulge  in  any  more  such  pleas 
antries  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States  Govern 
ment.  Now  get  out!" 

Henry  Lorenzo  smiled  sardonically,  bowed  to  the 
Captain,  and  we  left  without  a  word.  As  we 


IN    THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

climbed  into  our  wagon,  Henry  said  to  me :  "My  son, 
you  have  heard  and  seen  a  fair  type  of  the  evil  men 
who  have  been  the  curse  of  Zion  and  the  children  of 
God.  May  you  ever  oppose  them  as  strongly  in  deed 
and  spirit  as  you  have  just  now.  But  never  again 
allow  your  zeal  to  run  away  with  your  discretion; 
always  temper  your  words  and  conduct  to  suit  the 
occasion.  That  has  been  my  policy  and  it  has  car 
ried  me  far.  I  feel  that  I  can  say  in  all  modesty, 
that  in  so  doing  I  have  accomplished  more  for  the 
glory  and  upbuilding  of  Zion  than  the  men  who 
have  been  more  zealous  than  prudent.  The  devil 
prevaileth  at  times;  then  wise  men  are  silent,  doing 
their  good  works  in  secret,  that  the  evil  one  may  not 
be  attracted  to  them  and  their  good  works  de 
stroyed." 

I  could  not  help  feeling  the  truth  of  this,  and  that 
he  had  come  from  our  interview  with  the  Captain 
with  his  dignity  unruffled.  The  Captain  was  none 
the  wiser  save  for  the  information  I  had  given  him 
in  my  imprudent  outburst.  I  vouchsafed  no  reply 
and  we  drove  home  in  silence. 

I  do  not  know  how  the  news  spread,  but  it  was 
soon  generally  known  that  I  had  bearded  the  Captain 
in  his  den,  and  told  him  he  was  a  coward.  It  put  me 
in  prominence  for  a  while  and  was  thje  means  of 
my  being  promptly  admitted  into  the  "Lions  of  the 
Lord"  before  I  was  sixteen.  Thus  I  became  the 
youngest  novitiate  of  the  order  that  committed  more 
assasinations  than  the  reader  would  be  apt  to  believe 
possible  in  the  land  of  the  free.  ' 

Three  days  after  my  release,  it  was  known  that  the 
gentile  cattle  buyers  had  been  murdered  by  the 
Indians  some  ten  miles  east  of  Zion.  When  I  men 
tioned  the  fact  to  Henry,  he  smiled  grimly. 

Moab  was  held  to  await  the  sitting  of  the  Federal 
24 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

Court  and  was  discharged  with  a  fine  and  a  severe 
reprimand.  He  returned  to  his  duties  more  embit 
tered  and  morose  than  ever. 

The  next  few  years  of  my  life  were  uneventful.  I 
will  now  take  you  up  to  the  period  of  my  life  when 
I  was  really  happy. 

My  oldest  half-sister  had  married  and  was  living  on 
one  of  Henry's  numerous  ranches,  in  the  canyon  near 
the  present  location  of  Park  City,  Utah.  Her  hus 
band  had  broken  his  leg  and  I  was  sent  up  during  the 
harvest  season,  as  I  could  be  vrery  well  spared  from 
the  home  farm,  and  it  was  difficult  to  secure  help  in 
that  remote  and  lonesome  spot.  I  was  not  enthusi 
astic  at  the  prospect,  but  it  never  entered  my  mind 
to  disobey. 

My  brother-in-law,  Edward  Wright,  had  drifted 
into  Zion  from  the  east  a  few  years  before,  fallen 
in  love  with  my  sister,  and  adopted  Mormonism  in 
a  half-hearted  manner,  that  he  might  get  Henry's 
consent  to  the  marriage.  I  believe  he  selected  the 
remotest  possible  place  to  live,  that  he  might  not  be 
forced  to  closely  affiliate  with  the  church.  He  took 
but  the  one  wife,  and  at  the  worst  was  but  a  "Jack 
Mormon."  By  means  of  damming  up  a  little  moun 
tain  stream,  he  irrigated  a  strip  of  land  in  one  of 
the  widest  parts  of  the  canyon.  Here  he  raised 
some  grain  and  garden  products,  which,  with  a  few 
sheep  and  cattle,  yielded  him  a  modest  income,  after 
he  had  paid  his  tithing  and  turned  over  one-half 
to  Henry.  He  built  a  very  comfortable  log  house, 
which  was  surrounded  by  a  thrifty  garden. 

Nestled  down  'in  the  picturesque  canyon,  surround 
ed  by  grey,  rugged  peaks  which  towered  until  they 
seemed  to  reach  the  sky,  the  home  of  my  brother-in- 
law  seemed  the  embodiment  of  peace  and  prosperity. 
I  brought  my  horse  up  sharply,  and  paused  to  enjrw 
25 


!N   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

the  scene,  which  thrilled  even  me  to  whom  the 
mountains  were  home.  The  sun  just  peeping  over  the 
eastern  range,  its  brilliant  rays  bathing  the  opposite 
cliffs  in  golden  light,  had  not  penetrated  to  the  can 
yon  below.  Smoke  curled  lazily  up  from  the  house 
which,  with  its  cultivated  land  surrounding  it,  re 
posed  in  the  cool  morning  shade.  All  was  quiet  save 
for  the  triumphant  cackle  of  the  hens,  who  felt  no 
doubt  that  their  morning's  work  had  been  well  done. 
Truly  this  was  the  Garden  of  Eden  and  fate  had 
decreed  that  here  I  was  to  meet  my  Eve. 

No  one  was  in  sight  as  I  rode  up,  dismounted,  and 
put  my  horse  in  the  little  temporary  shed.  This  done, 
I  started  for  the  house  and  came  suddenly  face  to 
face  with  a  vision  which  will  live  forever  in  my 
memory.  Yes,  it  was  a  girl;  and  such  a  girl,  it 
seemed  to  me,  as  nature,  not  content  to  allow  this 
paradise  to  exist  without  a  fitting  queen  to  rule  over 
it,  had  fashioned  from  her  choicest  creations.  Surely 
that  lock  of  hair,  peeping  from  under  the  little  pink 
sunbonnet  was  but  a  stray  sunbeam;  those  surprised 
and  startled  eyes  caught  their  color  from  the  sky; 
the  color  of  the  lips  and  cheeks  matched  the  fresh 
strawberries  she  had  gathered  in  the  basket  on  her 
arm ;  and  the  poise  of  the  graceful  figure,  as  she  half 
turned,  as  though  to  run,  was  the  same  I  had  often 
noted  in  the  elk  of  the  neighboring  mountains  when 
they  first  scented  the  hunter. 

I  stood  awkwardly  staring  at  her  with  open-eyed 
admiration.  She  seemed  to  recognize  the  expression 
which  was  evidently  not  new  to  her.  She  smiled, 
giving  me  a  glimpse  of  two  rows  of  perfectly  formed 
white  teeth,  at  which  new  wonder  I  stared,  the  more 
vainly  trying  to  recall  some  perfection  of  nature 
which  must  have  been  copied. 
26 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

"Mr.  Cowboy,  you  are  not  so  free  with  speech  as 
you  are  in  making  use  of  other  people's  sheds." 

I  started  at  the  sound  of  her  well  modulated  voice. 
It  was  distinctly  different  from  that  of  the  girls  I 
knew,  all  of  whom  had  associated  with  rough  men, 
leading  rough  lives,  and  whose  tones  were  rough  in 
consequence.  Shifting  uncomfortably  from  one  foot 
to  the  other,  I  stammered,  "I  am  Joe  Lorenzo." 

"Indeed.    Prophet  or  cowboy?" 

I  felt  that  I  was  being  laughed  at  and  it  did  not 
tend  to  put  me  at  ease.  I  had  never  been  bashful  in 
the  presence  of  the  fair  sex  (it  is  not  a  Mormon 
trait)  and  a  tinge  of  anger  brought  me  some  of  my 
usual  self  assurance. 

"I  came  to  help  my  brother-in-law,  but  it  seems 
he  has  an  all-sufficient  person  already." 

I  intended  this  to  be  a  very  crushing  bit  of  repar 
tee,  and  was  much  less  pleased  than  surprised  when 
she  graciously  admitted  that  she  was  sufficient,  but 
that  I  would  come  handy  with  the  cows,  as  she 
feared  and  hated  them.  With  this  remark  she  start 
ed  for  the  house,  advising  me  to  follow  and  get  some 
thing  to  eat  as  I  looked  as  though  I  needed  it.  I  was 
still  trying  to  get  the  full  meaning  of  her  rather  am 
biguous  remark,  as  to  my  coming  in  handy  with  the 
cows.  It  stung  my  pride  to  be  classed  with  the  ani 
mals  she  feared  and  hated.  It  was  plain  that  my 
queen  of  nature  could  be  as  cruel  as  nature  herself, 
when  in  the  right  mood ;  but  I  could  not  imagine 
what  I  had  done  to  merit  her  displeasure,  unless  it 
was  my  bold  and  perhaps  rude  stare.  I  mentally 
resolved  that  I  would  not  offend  again,  and  deter 
mined  to  so  conduct  myself  that  I  might  have  the 
pleasure  of  enjoying-  more  congenial  relations  with 
this  beauty  of  the  mountains. 

We  found  my  sister  in  the  living  room  of  the 
27 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

house,  reading  to  her  husband,  who  was  lying  on 
the  couch.  Their  two-year-old  son  sat  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor,  erecting  a  house  out  of  bright  colored 
blocks,  in  which  occupation  he  was  promptly  inter 
rupted  by  "her  queenliness."  Taking  him  up  in  her 
arms  she  tossed  him  in  the  air,  kissing  him  each 
time  he  descended,  from  which  diversion,  with  wis 
dom  far  beyond  his  years,  he  seemed  to  derive  infi 
nite  enjoyment.  Edward  and  my  sister  greeted  me 
very  cordially  and  Edward  introduced  his  niece, 
Louise  Northfall,  late  of  St.  Louis.  I  assumed  what 
I  considered  my  best  manner  of  easy,  dignified  cor 
diality,  and  bowed  very  low.  She  merely  glanced 
at  me,  and  nodding  carelesly  said,  "He  has  already 
introduced  himself." 

My  sister  was  a  good  natured  motherly  woman. 
She  promptly  set  the  remains  of  their  breakfast  be 
fore  me,  while  her  husband  and  I  talked  of  the  crops, 
and  I  told  him  of  the  latest  happenings  in  the  city. 
I  was  covertly  watching  his  niece,  playing  with  the 
baby  on  the  floor,  and  I  fancy  my  answers  were 
very  much  at  random,  to  say  the  least. 


CHAPTER  V. 

I  WORKED  from  early  until  late  in  the  harvest  fields 
for  the  next  few  weeks,  but  neither  gold  nor  the  fear 
of  death  could  have  driven  me  away.  I  worked  with 
a  fierce  nervous  energy,  so  as  to  finish  my  tasks  and 
have  a  few  days,  perchance,  to  roam  in  the  mountains 
with  Louise.  I  called  her  that  in  my  thoughts  but 
never  dared  to  address  her  by  that  name.  She  almost 
ignored  me,  and  treated  me,  when  she  chose  to 
notice  me  at  all,  with  an  indifference,  that  surprised, 
piqued  and  chastened  my  somewhat  conceited  opinion 
of  myself  which  had  not  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the 
girls  I  had  hitherto  known,  due  no  doubt  to  my  be 
ing  the  son  of  one  of  the  richest  and  most  powerful 
of  the  church  leaders.  Like  all  young  men  of  eigh 
teen,  I  believed  I  understood  women  perfectly.  Then, 
too,  my  Mormon  upbringing  had  not  tended  to  give 
me  an  exalted  opinion  of  the  weaker  sex,  and 
while  I  was  very  susceptible  to  their  charms,  I  be 
lieved  them  but  an  incident  in  the  life  of  man  and 
unworthy  of  serious  consideration.  I  possessed  no 
chivalry,  except  what  was  mine  by  instinct. 

My  sister  told  me  Edward's  niece  had  come  to 
live  with  them  during  the  summer  because  she  had 
no  other  home,  and  that  she  was  going  back 
in  the  fall  to  teach  school.  She  had  lived  with  her 
grandparents  ever  since  she  was  a  small  child  when 
her  own  parents  had  died.  Edward's  father  and 
mother  had  taken  her  and  brought  her  up  with  the 
29 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

same  care  and  love  they  would  have  bestowed  on 
her  had  she  been  their  own  child,  giving  her  all  the 
education  their  modest  means  afforded. 

"Louise  is  a  firm  believer  in  a  Gentile  religion  and 
you  had  best  avoid  the  subject  of  religion  when  con 
versing  with  her,"  warned  my  sister. 

I  immediately  determined  to  attempt  to  convert 
her  at  the  first  opportunity,  never  doubting  that  it 
would  be  an  easy  and  pleasant  task. 

The  first  Sunday  I  was  there,  the  longed  for  op 
portunity  presented  itself.  1  got  up  earlier  than 
usual  intending  to  prevail  on  Louise  to  ride  to  meet 
ing  with  me.  The  idea  had  come  as  an  inspiration 
the  previous  evening,  and  I  had  been  nerving  myself 
ever  since  to  ask  her.  Just  before  breakfast  time, 
she  came  out  to  feed  the  chickens,  a  self-appointed 
task,  as  she  liked  to  see  them  eat. 

I  strolled  up  with  a  brave  attempt  at  nonchalance 
and  asked  her  in  what  I  hoped  would  appear  a  very 
off-hand  manner,  if  she  would  not  like  to  ride  horse 
back  down  the  canyon  to  meeting. 

"I  should  like  to  ride,  but  to  meeting,  what  meet 
ing?  I  am  in  the  habit  of  attending  church  on  Sun 
day,  but  I  understand  there  are  no  churches  in  this 
country." 

I  recognized  the  affront  to  our  religion,  but  the 
cool,  indifferent,  impersonal  tone  made  it  difficult 
to  take  offense;  besides  I  was  so  anxious  to  break 
through  the  barrier  of  calm,  distant  formality,  and 
arrive  at  some  terms  of  intimacy  with  this  wonder 
fully  charming  heathen  that  I  would  have  endured 
almost  anything  to  accomplish  it. 

"Very  well,  we  will  ride  up  the  canyon  to  the 
'Hot  Pots'  if  you  prefer  it." 

"O,  I  would  dearly  love  to,"  she  exclaimed.     I 
felt  that  the  ice  was  broken. 
30 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

She  had  once  spent  a  summer  on  a  ranch  with  a 
school  friend,  where  she  had  learned  to  ride  with 
ease  and  grace.  We  were  provided  with  lunch  and 
six-shooters,  mine  for  safety,  for  lawless  men  and 
straggling  bands  of  Indians  roved  the  mountains  and 
hold-ups  were  not  uncommon.  She  had  taken  her 
uncle's  gun  to  learn  to  shoot.  There  was  no  oppor 
tunity  for  connected  conversation  until  we  stopped 
for  lunch,  as  we  watched  sharply  where  the  way 
was  rough,  and  cantered  briskly  where  the  way 
permitted. 

We  stopped  about  noon  time  and  ate  our  lunch 
in  silence  in  the  shade  of  a  clump  of  scrub  pine. 
There  was  no  embarrassment  in  our  silence,  it  was 
simply  that  the  ride  had  given  our  normally  good 
appetites  an  abnormal  stimulus,  and  we  were  too 
busy  to  talk.  When  the  last  bit  had  disappeared, 
washed  down  with  mountain  spring-water,  we 
sighed  with  satisfaction  simultaneously,  and  then 
laughed. 

"Most  men  would  be  looking  for  something  to 
smoke/'  she  said.  "If  I  were  a  man  I  would  smoke." 

"One  of  the  first  precepts  of  the  religion  I  love 
and  revere  above  all  things,  forbids  the  doing  of 
whatever  will  injure  the  health,  which  God  has  given 
us  to  use  in  the  upbuilding  of  His  Kingdom,"  I  re 
plied. 

"Yes,"  she  flashed,  "and,  besides,  it  is  bad  for  the 
nerves  and  one  must  need  plenty  of  nerve  to  rule 
over  a  harem." 

"That  might  be  true  of  certain  women,  but  our 
women  are  God-fearing." 

"Yours  are  the  do-as-you-say-stand-without-hitch- 
ing,  kick-me-because-I-like-it  variety,  I  judge." 

"They  are  Godly  women,  obedient  to  their  hus- 

31 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

bands,  and  not  lacking  in  spirit,"  I  retorted,  making 
an  effort  to  keep  my  temper. 

"Quite  so!  And  how  many,  if  the  question  is 
not  impertinent,  of  these  very  desirable  creatures 
have  you  in  your  harem?  Being  such  an  ardent 
Mormon,  and,"  I  believe  she  almost  said  good  look 
ing,  "so  prominent  in  the  church,  you  must  have  ar 
least  a  dozen." 

"Miss  Northfall,  I  am  as  yet  unmarried,  and  will 
remain  so  until  I  have  gone  on  a  mission  and  done 
all  in  my  poor  power  to  spread  the  true  will 
of  God.  We  are  not  Mormons  but  Latter  Day  Saints. 
Your  remarks  were  evidently  designed  to  give  of 
fense,  and  in  my  poor  judgment  unbecoming  a  lady/' 

She  rose  leisurely  with  scarcely  a  trace  of  dis 
pleasure  discernible,  saying,  as  she  quickly  mounted 
the  little  mustang  before  I  could  help  her.  "Mr. 
Saint,  your  judgment  is  indeed  very  poor.  Being 
a  Saint  you  ought  to  be  good  company  on  Sunday. 
My  depraved  taste  leads  me  to  prefer  this  mustang. 
You  had  better  spend  the  remainder  of  the  day  with 
someone,  who  in  your  opinion,  qualifies  as  a  lady." 
She  whipped  up  the  pony  and  was  gone  before  I 
could  reply,  going  as  fast  as  was  consistent  with 
safety  and  whistling  as  she  went. 

I  followed  her  closely  with  wildly  conflicting  emo 
tions.  She  did  not  slacken  the  pace  until  we  reached 
home,  where  she  insisted  on  taking  care  of  her  horse, 
except  that  I  took  off  the  saddle. 

I  longed  to  apologize  and  to  renew  the  argument, 
but  I  did  not  know  how  to  go  about  either.  She 
went  into  the  house  and  up  to  her  room  telling  my 
sister  that  after  we  reached  a  certain  altitude,  we 
struck  an  atmosphere  that  oppressed  her,  and  this 
was  the  only  excuse  offered  for  our  early  return. 
My  admiration  for  her  had  increased  rather  than 
32 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF  B  RICH  AM    YOUNG     I 

\ 

diminished,  and  I  acknowledged  to  myself  that  I 
was  very  much  in  love  with  her.  I  was  surprised  to 
find  that  I  entertained  a  respect  for  her  to  which: 
I  never  believed  any  woman  entitled  hitherto,  that' 
is,  from  a  mental  standpoint. 


33 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EDWARD  WRIGHT  was  easy  going  and  good  na- 
tured,  which  is  anomalous  in  a  man  as  industrious 
as  he.  It  was  a  great  trial  for  him  to  lie  idle  when 
his  labor  would  have  been  so  valuable.  He  endured 
his  plight  with  stoical  fortitude,  however,  and  rarely 
uttered  a  complaint.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable 
education,  having  studied  medicine  in  his  younger 
days,  but  giving  it  up  on  account  of  his  health.  He 
had  a  fine  collection  of  books,  including  many  of 
the  classics  and  a  number  of  scientific  authorities. 
Up  to  this  time,  my  reading  had  been  confined  to 
books  that  had  received  the  sanction  of  the  church. 
Now,  rebuffed  and  ignored  by  Louise,  I  turned  to 
the  books  in  Edward's  library,  as  a  kind  of  mild 
dissipation,  just  as  a  man  of  other  habits  and  train 
ing  would  have  resorted  to  drink.  I  found  great  con 
solation  in  them,  and  they  served  to  occupy  my 
mind,  partially  at  least,  when  I  was  not  busy  in  the 
fields.  Delving  into  them,  and  talking  with  Edward 
of  the  life  he  had  led  at  college,  of  the  gentile's 
ways  and  manner  of  living,  and  of  their  religion, 
soon  gave  me  an  insight  into  the  character  of  Louise. 
It  dawned  upon  me  how  exceedingly  abhorrent  poly 
gamy  must  be  to  one  brought  up  a  gentile,  with  the 
romantic  ideal  of  but  one  true  love,  and  the  exalted 
deference  due  womankind. 

The  fruit  of  this  reading  was  my  first  mental 
treason  to  the  system.  I  was  in  love  with  Louise 
34 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

and  determined  to  win  her.  The  passion  she  had  in 
spired  was  all  consuming,  and  I  mentally  resolved 
that  I  would  love  her  and  prosecute  my  suit  with 
the  deference  and  humility  which  were  so  effective 
in  the  books  I  had  read.  I  would  sacrifice  my  hopes 
of  the  hereafter  by  marrying  her  only.  I  did  not 
despair  in  the  hope  of  converting  her,  however,  and 
was  as  firm  in  my  belief  as  ever,  longing  for  an  op 
portunity  to  present  our  side  of  the  argument.  I  had 
argued  with  gentiles  before  and  had  never  found  one 
who  had  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  Bible  to  make  it 
even  interesting  for  me. 

She  gave  me  no  opportunity,  however,  and  con 
tinued  to  treat  me  with  indifference,  never  taking 
the  trouble  to  avoid  me,  but  making  it  very  plain  that 
any  advances,  beyond  common  civility,  on  my  part 
would  be  most  unwelcome.  When  the  conversation 
was  general  at  the  table  or  when  we  were  sitting 
on  the  veranda  after  the  lady's  work  was  done,  she 
always  took  the  lead.  I  remained  a  silent  listener, 
for  the  most  part,  either  too  inexperienced  in  the  art 
of  light  and  chaffing  conversation,  unfamiliar  with 
the  topics  she  designedly  chose,  or  so  abashed  by  her 
quick  witted  sallies,  when  I  ventured  to  take  part, 
that  I  did  not  care  to  repeat  the  experience.  Both 
Edward  and  my  sister  must  have  noticed  her  aver 
sion  for  me,  but  neither  mentioned  it.  How  she 
ever  forgave  her  uncle  for  espousing  Mormonism  is 
more  than  I  could  understand,  and,  too,  she  was  on 
close  terms  of  intimacy  with  my  sister,  whose  heart 
she  had  completely  won. 

Things  continued  in  this  manner  until  the  work 
was  nearly  done.  Edward  had  begun  to  hobble 
around  with  a  cane,  and  I  could  see  that  the  time 
was  fast  drawing  near  when  I  would  have  to  take 
my  departure.  Instead  of  gaining  confidence,  as 
35 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

time  went  by,  I  became  more  diffident.  I  felt  some 
how,  that  Louise  read  my  secret  and  was  gratified 
and  amused  but  not  a  bit  softened  I  almost  de 
spaired  of  ever  getting  on  even  a  friendly  footing 
with  her,  when  chance  intervened  in  my  behalf. 

She  had  been  taking  short  rides  up  and  down  the 
canyon  every  day  since  that  disastrous  Sunday,  ven 
turing  a  little  farther  each  time  as  her  confidence 
and  sense  of  security  increased.  We  had  warned 
her  time  and  again  to  beware  of  Indians  and  des 
peradoes,  but  as  she  never  saw  any,  she  had  been 
lulled  into  a  false  sense  of  security,  believing,  as  she 
said,  that  we  were  telling  "bogy"  stories. 

I  went  to  the  nearest  settlement,  one  afternoon, 
for  some  necessaries,  returning  just  at  sundown.  My 
sister  met  me  at  the  turn  of  the  trail,  with  the  baby 
in  her  arms.  I  knew  by  her  attitude  that  trouble 
was  at  hand  as  soon  as  I  caught  sight  of  her. 

"Louise  has  been  gone  since  eleven  o'clock,"  she 
said  in  an  agitated  voice,  "and  she  did  not  take  a 
lunch  with  her.  Edward  thinks  she  is  with  you.  I 
did  not  dare  to  tell  him  otherwise,  as  I  was  afraid 
he  would  try  to  find  her  and  injure  himself/' 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  received  the  bad  tidings 
with  as  much  satisfaction  as  alarm.  I  was  selfish 
enough  to  be  glad  that  my  judgment  had  been 
vindicated.  I  felt,  too,  that  this  was  an  opportunity 
to  p,rove  my  metal,  in  some  very  dramatic  manner, 
to  this  obdurate  and  self-sufficient  gentile.  That 
she  had  been  captured  by  some  wandering  band  of 
Indians,  I  never  doubted.  I  was  equally  confident 
that  I  would  be  able  to  rescue  her  unharmed,  by 
means  of  a  ransom;  if  necesary  fry  force  and  arms. 
The  Ute  Indians  are  more  like  thieving  squaws,  any 
way,  with  a  wholesome  dread  of  anyone  in  cowboy 
attire.  Besides,  they  were  ostensibly  very  friendly 

36 


IN   THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

to  the  Mormon  people.  If  they  could  murder  me 
with  no  danger  of  being  discovered,  I  knew  they 
would  do  it  with  unction  if  for  no  other  reason 
than  to  get  my  six-shooter.  So  I  prepared  to  use 
every  precaution.  I  sent  my  sister  to  the  kitchen 
after  my  rifle,  and.  leaving  my  horse  at  the  end  of 
the  trail,  secured  some  old  sacks  from  the  barn,  to 
muffle  the  pony's  feet,  taking  care  not  to  be  seen  by 
Edward.  By  that  time  my  sister  had  returned,  laden 
with  the  rifle,  a  water  bottle,  a  knapsack  full  of 
lunch,  and  all  the  ammunition  I  could  carry.  All 
this  occupied  but  a  few  brief  minutes,  and  I  soon 
found  myself  riding-  briskly  up  the  canyon  in  high 
spirits  feeling  very  much  the  hero.  The  extreme 
darkness,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  mountains  on  a 
cloudy  night,  soon  fell  on  the  canyon,  forcing  me  to 
allow  the  pony  to  choose  her  own  pace,  and  to  trust 
to  her  sight  and  instinct  to  keep  us  out  of  trouble. 

My  mind  was  full  of  excited  fancies  as  I  rode 
along  in  the  oppressive  stillness.  I  tried  to  imagine 
how  I  would  effect  a  rescue,  and,  if  I  were  success 
ful,  what  change  it  would  make  in  Louise's  attitude. 
Then  my  thoughts  turned  to  the  possible  chiefs  who 
would  be  likely  to  attempt  such  an  outrage,  when 
"Dandy  Jean/'  flashed  across  my  mind.  I  had  heard 
it  rumored  that  this  notorious,  half-breed  bandit 
had  been  operating  along  the  main  trail  to  Denver, 
and  it  was  thought  that  he  was  in  hidng  in  the 
mountains  somewhere  not  far  distant.  His  activities 
were  so  uncertain,  however,  covering  a  territory 
from  Montana  to  the  Santa  Fe  trail,  that  it  was  at 
best  a  matter  of  vague  conjecture.  But  the  possibil 
ity  that  it  was  he,  changed  my  attitude  from  cock- 
sureness  to  terror  both  for  the  safety  of  Louise,  and 
for  the  outcome  of  any  attempt  that  I  might  make 
to  effect  a  rescue.  I  did  not  fear  a  foe  worthy  of 
37 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

my  steel,  but  I  knew  this  wily,  courageous  villain 
never  traveled  without  four  or  five  accomplices,  all 
cunning,  hardened  scoundrels,  and  unexcelled  marks 
men.  I  was  no  mean  performer  with  a  six  shooter, 
having  recently  won  the  prize  in  a  contest  that  had 
been  thrown  open  to  all  comers.  I  had  never  been 
under  fire,  nor  had  I  ever  shot  at  a  human  being, 
but  the  thought  of  Louise  being  in  such  hands  gave 
me  the  temper  of  a  wounded  grizzly. 

The  sky  cleared  about  midnight  and  the  moon 
shone  for  a  couple  of  hours,  giving  me  an  opportun 
ity  to  make  very  good  headway.  I  was  satisfied  that 
whether  she  had  been  captured  by  Indians  or  out 
laws,  they  would  camp  for  the  night  along  the  only 
stream  of  water  in  that  part  of  the  mountains.  I 
knew  every  foot  of  the  mountains  in  this  vicinity, 
as  I  had  herded  sheep  on  them  for  three  seasons  and 
I  hoped  to  find  the  captors  at  a  certain  spot  which 
seemed  to  me  best  adapted  for  concealment.  The 
moon  sank  behind  the  clouds  again.  I  began  to 
watch  for  the  light  of  a  camp  fire,  as  I  had  been 
traveling  for  five  hours,  and  they  could  not  have 
more  than  that  length  of  time  the  start  of  me, 
though  they  had,  no  doubt,  made  better  time. 

I  judge  it  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
when  I  recognized  the  surroundings  as  those  where 
I  expected  to  find  my  quarry.  It  was  very  dark, 
but  I  could  make  out  the  ledge,  where  I  expected  to 
find  them  dimly  outlined  by  the  faint  light  of  the 
stars  which  shone  here  and  there  through  the  clouds, 
and  served  to  make  the  darkness  of  the  canyon  the 
more  intense.  The  ledge  was  accessible  only  by 
means  of  a  narrow  path  which  was  just  wide  enough 
for  one  horse.  After  a  distance  of  several  hundred 
feet,  it  made  a  sharp  turn  and  widened  into  a  room- 
like  formation,  about  a  hundred  feet  in  width,  strewn 

38 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

with  huge  boulders  and  covered  with  an  unusually 
thick  growth  of  scrub  pine,  which  offered  excellent 
defensive  possibilities.  In  this  place  a  fire  could  not 
be  observed  from  the  main  trail,  some  two  hundred 
feet  below.  The  path  which  led  to  it  would  be 
known  only  to  those  most  familiar  with  the  locality, 
as  it  began  several  rods  from  the  trail,  and  had  been 
traversed  by  so  few,  that  it  would  be  noticed  only 
by  a  close  observer. 

My  judgment  told  me  that  I  would  find  a  sen 
tinel  where  the  path  began  or  at  the  turn  where  it 
widened,  so  I  tethered  my  pony  and  approached  it 
with  the  utmost  caution.  I  was  disappointed  to  find 
no  one  at  the  beginning  of  the  path,  and  with  in 
creased  boldness  proceeded  up  toward  the  turn. 

I  had  gone  half  the  distance  when  the  odor  of 
tobacco  reached  me;  I  was  on  the  right  scent  and  it 
was  exceedingly  warm.  I  knelt  down  and  asked  the 
Lord  to  make  known  His  will  to  me,  and  to  give  me 
power  to  execute  it.  I  had  labored  much  with 
prayer,  and  it  had  been  the  great  disappointment  of 
my  life  that  I  had  never  been  visited  with  a  revela 
tion,  which  was  an  everyday  occurrence  with  most  of 
the  "Saints,"  so  they  claimed.  I  was  again  disap 
pointed,  but  my  excitement  had  gone,  and  my  head 
was  perfectly  cool. 

I  crawled  noiselessly  along  the  rocky  wall,  tower 
ing  hundreds  of  feet  over  the  ledge,  which  was  now 
buried  in  the  inky  darkness  which  precedes  the  dawn. 
I  had  covered  perhaps  a  hundred  feet  in  this  man 
ner  when  suddenly,  not  ten  rods  away,  someone 
struck  a  match  and  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  man, 
sitting  with  his  back  to  the  wall,  lighting  his  pipe. 
Clearly  my  presence  was  not  yet  suspected.  I  had 
formed  a  plan  of  attack.  It  was  desperate,  but  any 
thing  seemed  possible  when  I  thought  of  Louise  in 
39 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

such  hands.  I  hoped  to  take  the  sentinel  unawares 
and  overpower  him  without  noise;  then  I  would 
either  release  Louise  and  escape  with  her  without 
waking  the  sleepers,  or  at  least  put  some  of  them 
out  of  the  fight  before  it  began,  in  the  surprise. 

When  the  sentinel  struck  the  match,  I  confess  it 
gave  me  a  start,  and  I  nearly  fired.  I  knew  that  I 
had  to  deal  with  a  man  who  was  very  much  awake, 
and  I  believe  the  situation  that  confronted  me  would 
have  given  the  woodwise  "Hawkeye"  food  for 
thought.  It  was  impossible  to  get  much  closer  with 
out  attracting  his  attention,  as  the  stillness  was 
acute  and  the  path  rocky.  If  I  ordered  him  to 
throw  up  his  hands,  I  could  not  see  whether  he 
obeyed  me  or  not,  and  there  was  nothing  to  prevent 
him  from  taking  a  shot  at  me,  with  the  sound  of  my 
voice  to  guide  him.  The  red  glow  of  his  pipe  gave 
me  an  advantage,  as  I  could  cover  him  with  absolute 
certainty  and  this  I  did,  worming  toward  him  on 
my  side.  I  was  within  a  short  distance  of  him, 
when  I  noticed  the  light  of  the  pipe  turn,  as  if  he 
had  turned  his  head  to  one  side  to  listen. 

"I  have  a  bead  on  you,"  I  whispered  in  a  voice  that 
I  am  sure  did  not  lack  in  fierceness,  though  my  heart 
was  thumping  loudly. 

He  shot  almost  before  I  had  said  that  much,  and 
I  fired  with  the  flash  of  his  gun.  I  felt  my  sombrero 
whisked  suddenly  from  my  head,  but  I  was  sure  I 
had  my  man,  and  now  my  only  possible  chance  was 
to  get  around  the  turn  and  drop  some  of  the  others, 
before  they  got  out  of  the  light  of  the  fire,  which 
I  was  certain  they  would  be  sleeping  by,  as  the  moun 
tain  air  was  very  cold. 

I  moved  toward  the  corner  as  swiftly  as  I  dared, 
groping  with  one  hand  along  the  wall  of  the  ledge, 
and  carrying  my  gun  in  the  other.  It  was  only  a 
40 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

matter  of  a  couple  of  rods  before  I  saw  the  light 
of  the  fire  and  at  the  same  time  ran  into  a  man  with 
such  force  that  I  was  nearly  knocked  down  by  the 
collision.  I  fired  as  we  came  together,  but  the  gun 
was  past  him  at  the  time,  and  it  was  involuntary  on 
my  part.  However,  it  was  not  without  results,  for 
I  heard  someone  groan  and  swear  as  I  was  locked  in 
the  embrace  of  the  burly  giant  whom  I  had  encoun 
tered  so  rudely.  I  was  a  big,  strapping  lad  of  six  feet, 
heavy,  muscular  and  sinewy.  My  antagonist  had  the 
advantage  of  the  under  hold,  and  was  tall  enough 
and  strong  enough  to  use  it  effectively;  but  I  was 
more  active  and  desperate.  I  secured  a  neck  hold 
and  we  staggered  back  into  the  light  of  the  fire 
struggling  fiercely  as  we  went.  I  caught  a  glimpse 
of  Louise,  standing  with  her  hands  tied,  and  the  end 
of  a  rope  fastened  to  a  scrub  pine.  A  man 
crouched  behind  a  rock  with  a  revolver  in  each 
hand,  leveled  toward  the  turn  in  the  path,  and  I 
heard  him  coolly  order  someone,  whom  I  could  not 
see,  to:  "Get  him!  I  will  cover  the  trail." 

The  sight  of  Louise  gave  me  a  strength  I  had 
never  before  known,  and  with  a  mighty  effort  I 
loosened  my  opponent's  hold,  got  him  on  the  hip. 
and  threw  him  on  the  rocky  ledge  with  tremendous 
force.  Before  I  could  recover  my  balance  fully, 
three  others  were  upon  me.  One  of  them  struck 
me  a  glancing  blow  on  the  cheek  with  his  gun,  which 
I  scarcely  noticed.  I  eluded  him  only  to  come  face 
to  face  with  a  bearded  giant  whose  pistol  was  raised 
as  a  club  in  his  right  hand.  I  caught  his  descending 
arm  with  one  hand,  hitting  him  full  in  the  face  as 
hard  as  I  could  with  the  other,  as  he  went  down. 
The  other,  a  slim,  agile  fellow,  threw  himself  upon 
me,  head  first.  I  received  him  with  open  arms,  pick 
ing  him  up  as  though  he  were  a  child  of  ten,  and 
41 


77V    THE    DAYS    OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

hurled  him  on  the  head  of  the  man  crouching  behind 
the  boulder.  I  was  rewarded  by  the  sound  of  hys 
terical  laughter  from  Louise  which  sent  a  thrill  of 
triumph  through  me.  Then  in  that  intstant  it  seemed 
as  if  the  world  had  taken  fire  and  I  was  falling,  fall 
ing.  Then  all  was  dark. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

I  AFTERWARDS  learned  that  the  big  fellow  had 
come  up  behind  me,  and  returned  the  blow  I  had 
given  him,  with  interest,  taking  me  unawares  on  the 
back  of  the  head  with  his  bare  fist.  When  I  recov 
ered  consciousness  my  mind  was  perfectly  clear,  and 
I  knew  instantly  where  I  was,  and  what  had  oc 
curred.  My  hands  and  feet  were  securely  bound, 
and  my  head  ached  to  the  point  of  bursting.  I 
turned  on  my  side  toward  the  fire,  and  saw  my 
enemies,  or  what  was  left  of  them,  hastily  eating 
breakfast.  Louise  had  been  untied  and  was  list 
lessly  drinking  a  cup  of  coffee,  out  of  a  tin  cup.  I 
turned  to  the  other  side  and  there,  not  more  than 
five  feet  away,  lay  the  bodies  of  two  men  partially 
covered  with  a  blanket.  It  needed  no  second  glance 
to  tell  me  that  they  would  rob  and  murder  no  more. 
Truly  my  little  visit  to  these  redoubtable  bandits  had 
left  its  mark.  I  noticed  that  the  bearded  giant's  nose 
was  smashed  and  swollen  to  unbelievable  propor 
tions  ;  the  slender  gentleman,  whom  I  had  dropped  so 
unceremoniously  into  the  lap  of  his  leader,  had  his 
arm  in  a  sling ;  another,  presumably  the  one  I  shot ' 
when  I  encountered  the  fellow  in  the  path,  had  his 
head  in  a  bandage.  The  fellow  whom  I  had  given  the 
heavy  fall,  seemed  to  have  no  appetite  for  his  break 
fast,  but  preferred  to  sit  and  gaze  gloomily  at  the 
43 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

reddening  sky,  with  his  hands  on  his  left  side — a 
broken  rib  or  two  no  doubt.  I  wondered  why  they 
had  not  shot  rne,  and  could  not  satisfy  myself  on 
that  point  unless  they  feared  they  would  hit  one  of 
their  own  number  in  the  uncertain  light.  I  was 
picturing  my  probable  fate,  when  the  leader  saun 
tered  over  to  me,  seated  himself  on  a  boulder,  and 
lighted  a  cigarette. 

He  was  a  slim,  athletic  fellow  of  perhaps  thirty- 
five,  with  large,  bold  black  eyes,  a  fine  aquiline  nose, 
and  a  determined  jaw.  A  little  imperial,  carefully 
trimmed,  emphasized  rather  than  concealed  the  thin 
lips  and  dazzling  teeth.  His  coal  black  hair  was 
curly  and  closely  cropped.  With  his  handsome  face 
and  perfectly  fitting  corduroy  hunting  costume,  one 
might  have  taken  him  for  an  Italian  grand  opera  star, 
out  on  a  hunting  trip. 

"Ah!"  he  said,  "the  light  is  better;  I  place  Mon 
sieur.  He  is  the  son  of  the  Prophet  Lorenzo.  Did 
I  not  see  Monsieur  riding  at  the  head  of  a  body  of 
young  'Saints'  last  Pioneer  Day?" 

I  was  angered  at  his  cool,  indifferent  manner,  and 
the  sight  of  his  handsome,  sinister  face  did  not  make 
me  feel  at  all  comfortable.  I  recalled  his  history  as 
told  by  rumor.  His  father  was  a  French  nobleman 
of  fortune,  who  had  married  a  half-breed.  Jean  had 
been  educated  in  France  on  the  fortune  left  him  by 
his  father.  This  had  been  considerable,  but  was 
quickly  spent  when  he  obtained  control  of  it.  He 
followed  his  father's  example  and  came  to  this  coun 
try  to  recuperate  his  shattered  fortunes,  bringing 
with  him  an  uncontrollable  propensity  to  gamble, 
which  had  led  him  into  his  present  means  oi  se 
curing  a  living.  There  was  scarcely  a  trace  of  the 
Indian  blood  in  his  features,  but  it  cropped  out  in 
his  manner  of  speaking  English. 
44 


IN   THE    DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

"You  have  the  advantage  of  me,  sir,"  I  said,  as 
he  evidently  expected  an  answer. 

"Yes,"  he  agreed,  'Very  much."  Will  Monsieur 
hang,  or  would  he  prefer  to  jump  over  the  ledge?" 

"Neither.  I  believe  I  have  the  honor  of  address 
ing  Monsieur  Du  Croix,  who,  if  reports  are  true, 
would  scorn  to  murder  a  man  in  cold  blood.  Give 
me  a  gun  and  let  me  prove  that  I  am  too  good  a 
man  to  die  the  death  of  a  dog." 

"I  am  a  French  gentleman  and  do  not  fight  duels 
with  cowards  that  sneak  up  and  shoot  men  in  the 
dark,"  he  replied. 

"If  you  mean  your  sentinel  who  smoked,"  I  said 
holty,  "you  are  mistaken.  He  fired  first,  after  I 
warned  him  that  I  had  the  drop  on  him." 

He  arose  and  throwing  back  the  blanket,  took  the 
unfortunate  man's  gun  from  his  belt  and  ejected  the 
empty  carriage.  "Monsieur  must  bear  a  charmed 
life.  I  never  knew  Frank  to  miss  before." 

Without  a  word  to  me  he  ordered  his  men  to  get 
on  the  march,  leaving  two  to  bury  the  unfortu 
nates. 

I  was  placed  on  the  horse  of  their  fallen  comrade, 
with  my  feet  bound  beneath  its  belly.  Jean  took  the 
lead,  with  Louise  next,  and  the  bearded  giant  just 
behind  her,  and  the  others  brought  up  the  rear. 

I  had  had  neither  breakfast  nor  sleep,  and  we  set 
out  at  a  pace  that  meant  strenuous  work  for  a  man 
in  the  best  of  condition.  To  me,  it  was  torture.  We 
did  not  even  pause  until  noon,  and  then  camped  in 
the  burning  sun.  They  took  me  from  my  horse 
in  a  semi-conscious  condition  because  of  the  lack  of 
food  and  water  and  extreme  exhaustion.  I  would 
have  died  rather  than  ask  for  food,  fearing  a  refusal. 

Jean  seemed  to  be  most  amiable,  however,  and  I 
was  unbound  and  allowed  to  eat  with  them.  For 
45 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

the  first  time  my  eyes  met  Louise's  and  the  look  of 
thanks  and  encouragement  she  gave  me,  did  more 
to  revive  me  than  anything  else  could  have  done. 

We  all  ate  and  drank  with  the  hunger  and  thirst 
of  animals.  When  we  had  finished,  Jean  produced 
a  gold  mounted  cigarette  case  of  curious  design, 
and  offered  me  a  cigarette.  I  refused  with  regret 
for  the  first  time  in  my  life  as  I  remembered 
Louise's  saying  that  if  she  were  a  man  she  would 
smoke. 

"If  Monsieur  had  shot  Frank  without  warning,  as 
I  first  supposed,  we  would  not  now  have  the  pleasure 
of  his  company.  I  have  conceived  a  liking  for  Mon 
sieur.  Men  of  courage  and  prowess  appeal  to  me. 
You  take  chances  against  odds,  so  do  I ;  it  is  a  good 
spirit.  I  do  not  wish  to  kill  a  brave  man  unneces 
sarily.  I  will  make  an  agreement  with  Monsieur,  and 
a  brave  man  keeps  his  agreements.  Monsieur  will 
go  back  on  the  trail,  and  tell  his  friends  that  Louise 
is  the  captive  of  Jean  Du  Croix.  Monsieur  will  say 
that  he  has  given  up  the  chase  as  hopeless  for  there 
are  sixty  in  our  band,  and  that  we  have  scattered  in 
parties  of  four  and  five,  making  it  impossible  to 
know  with  which  Louise  is.  Monsieur  has  many 
women.  It  is  his  religion.  He  will  not  miss  one, 
with  so  many  fair  ones  to  comfort  him,  and  his 
friend  Jean  will  be  grateful.  Mademoiselle  pre 
tends  to  dislike  me  now;  soon  she  will  know 
Jean  Du  Croix,  and,"  twisting  his  mustache,  smirk 
ing  and  casting  what  was  meant  to  be  a  killing  glance 
in  her  direction,  "she  will  love  him." 

I  had  been  inclined  to  use  policy  and  offer  a  ran 
som  when  I  found  our  captor  in  so  agreeable  a  state 
of  mind,  but  the  perfidy  of  his  proposal,  capped  by 
that  smile  and  smirk  banished  all  thought  of  compro 
mise.  It  was  clear  that  he  thought  I  would  be  eager 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

to  accede  to  such  a  proposal,  else  he  would  not  have 
given  me  the  free  use  of  my  limbs.  I  had  certainly 
given  him  good  cause  to  know  that.  I  was  not  back 
ward  in  using  them  to  a  very  excellent  advantage  in 
a  fight. 

"You  yellow-faced  blackguard,  you  call  me  a  brave 
man,  and  make  such  a  proposition  to  me?  I  love 
Louise  and  she  is  to  be  my  wife,  and  my  only  wife. 
Because  of  that  fact  I  expect  to  suffer  eternal  dam 
nation.  Do  you  think  that  any  threats  of  yours 
could  frighten  me  into  giving  her  up?  I  will  take 
her  with  me,  if  I  go  back  alive,  and  you  and  your 
whole  cowardly  crew  can't  stop  me." 

"Monsieur  is  young  and  excitable.  He  lacks  the 
wisdom  of  his  father  the  Prophet,  with  whom  I 
have  often  worked,"  and  with  these  words  he  threw 
back  his  handsome  head,  and  laughed  long  and 
loudly,  in  a  manner  that  set  every  nerve  in  my 
body  tingling  with  rage. 

"Slim,"  of  the  broken  arm,  noticed  my  anger  and 
fingered  his  six-shooter  significantly.  I  restrained 
my  impulse  to  spring  upon  the  merry  Jean,  who 
finally  composed  himself  and,  with  an  amused  sneer 
still  lingering  around  his  mouth,  continued: 

"To  hear  the  son  of  the  Prophet  Lorenzo — for 
whom  I  have  waylaid  as  many  as  four  caravans,  ad 
vised  by  him  as  to  the  time  and  place  to  watch  for 
them,  and  the  opposition  to  be  overcome,  and  to 
whom  I  have  handed  over  the  women  he  wanted 
while  I  kept  the  money — is  what  you  call  'rich'  in 
English." 

Then,  before  I  had  time  to  reply,  he  leaned  his 
face  close  to  mine  and  hissed  in  a  passionless  voice, 
but  with  blazing  eyes,  "Dog!  Son  of  a  Mormon 
Dog!  You  have  insulted  and  defied  the  son  of  a 
French  nobleman,  for  which  you  shall  die  the 
47 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

death  of  the  cur  you  are.  You  shall  lie  behind 
yonder  rock,  nicely  tied,  with  a  few  soaring  vul 
tures  to  keep  you  company.  I  will  give  you  a 
little  of  Hell  on  earth,  but  will  take  the  fair  Louise 
with  me,  so  there  will  be  no  danger  of  Hell  on 
her  account  for  you  in  the  hereafter.  I  am  Mon 
sieur's  benefactor.  I  save  his " 

He  got  no  further.  I  jabbed  him  in  the  face 
with  all  my  might,  and  with  surprising  quickness. 
We  had  both  been  sitting  down  at  first,  but  when 
he  leaned  toward  me,  he  rose  on  one  knee,  and  I 
partly  followed  his  example.  His  face  was  not 
more  than  two  feet  from  me  when  I  struck  him. 
Simultaneously  with  the  blow,  I  heard  the  report 
of  a  gun,  and  felt  a  ripping  shock  in  the  side  and 
back.  I  did  not  so  much  as  pause,  however,  in  fol 
lowing  up  the  blow,  which  had  knocked  the  hu 
morous  Jean  over  backwards  with  me  upon  him. 
With  one  hand  at  his  throat,  I  struck  him 
viciously  in  the  face  with  the  other.  I  had  struck 
him  the  second  time,  and  was  about  to  land  a  third, 
when  the  bearded  giant  gave  me  a  kick  in  the  ribs 
with  his  heavy-booted  foot,  which  doubled  me  up, 
with  all  the  breath  and  strength  knocked  out  of 
me.  I  heard  another  shot,  someone  fell  across 
me,  and  I  think  I  lost  conciousness  for  a  few  sec 
onds. 

When  I  came  to,  the  bearded  giant  was  stand 
ing  near  me,  gazing  wildly  about  him,  with  the 
blood  streaming  down  his  face.  Someone  was  ty 
ing  my  hands  behind  me.  Louise  sat  with  her 
face  in  her  hands,  sobbing  convulsively,  and  Jean, 
• — a  sadly  disfigured  Jean — was  taking  an  empty 
cartridge  from  a  smoking  thirty-eight  caliber  re 
volver.  Everything  began  to  whirl;  the  sky 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

looked  red;  the  pain  in  my  side  was  intense;  I 
could  scarcely  breathe.  There  was  a  stinging 
ache  in  my  back,  and  my  head  throbbed.  It  all 
seemed  very  unreal.  Jean,  coming  toward  me,  ap 
peared  twice  his  usual  size.  I  vaguely  wondered 
why  I  had  not  smashed  his  fine  nose;  I  had  meant 
to. 

"Dandy  Jean!"  I  laughed.  "Dandy  Black-eye!" 
Then  the  pain  ceased  and  I  was  dreaming  of  the 
brawls  of  a  pirate  crew  of  which  I  had  read  in  one  of 
Edwards's  books. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

When  things  became  real  to  me  again,  I  was  ly 
ing  in  bed  in  the  living  room  of  my  sister's  house. 
I  felt  weak,  sick  and  sore  all  over  with  no  interest 
in  anything  that  had  happened  or  existed.  I  knew 
that  something  dreadful  had  occurred,  but  I  did 
not  know  or  care  what.  I  must  have  fallen  asleep 
almost  immediately,  and  was  awakened  by  the 
sound  of  Dr.  Weber's  voice.  I  opened  my  eyes 
to  look  into  the  merry,  kindly  grey  ones  of  our 
jolly  old  family  physician. 

"How  now,  Sir  Knight,  have  you  killed  as  many 
of  the  pirates  as  you  did  of  the  bandits?  If  your 
thirst  for  blood  is  satisfied,  it  might  be  well  to  try 
a  little  broth." 

My  sleep  had  done  much  for  me,  and  the  sight 
of  Louise  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  demurely  wishing 
me  a  good  morning,  did  more.  And  with  the  sight 
of  her  the  vision  of  her  as  I  had  seen  her  last, 
came  to  me.  I  tried  to  sit  up  in  my  excitement, 
only  to  be  taken  with  a  pain  in  the  side  and  back 
that  stretched  me  faint  and  perspiring. 

"No  more  such  moves  as  that,  Joe,"  said  the 
doctor,  soberly.  "You  have  a  rather  bad  side,  a 
few  broken  ribs  and  some  bad  bruises,  which  will 
necessitate  your  lying  quiet  for  a  time.  That 
ought  not  to  be  irksome,  with  Louise  as  a  nurse." 

I  paid  no  attention  to  the  doctor,  but  gazed 
mutely  at  Louise.  She  evidently  divined  what 
50 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

was  going  on  in  my  mind,  for  she  came  to  the  side 
of  my  bed,  and  told  me  that  we  had  been  rescued 
by  a  band  of  prospectors,  at  the  very  moment  I 
sank  into  unconsciousness. 

"I  made  a  mess  of  it,"  I  said. 

"If  it  had  not  been  for  you,  I  would  still  be  in 
their  hands,"  she  replied  warmly.  You  are  a 
brave  boy,  and  oh!  such  a  fighter!  Anyone  would 
be  proud  of  such  a  knight." 

"Ahem !'  said  the  doctor.  "It  is  high  time  I 
was  on  my  way.  You  must  lie  quiet,  Joe,  but 
you  need  not  keep  your  eyes  shut;  and  I  won't 
tell  you  not  to  talk,  as  the  doctors  all  do  on  such 
occasions  because  I  know  it  would  do  no  good." 
And  he  went  out,  whistling  a  merry  tune  that  was 
certainly  not  a  Mormon  hymn. 

It  was  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  Louise  show  so 
much  as  a  trace  of  embarrassment.  While  very 
much  disconcerted  by  the  doctor's  pointed  re 
mark,  in  regard  to  my  keeping  my  eyes  open,  I 
did  not  hesitate  to  take  advantage  of  his  leniency 
in  that  respect;  but  at  that  moment  I  was  too  con 
fused  to  say  a  word.  Nothing  short  of  a  stone 
image  could  keep  its  eyes  from  Louise  at  any 
time,  and  this  morning  her  fresh  dainty  loveli 
ness  would  have  wrung  homage  from  an  Egyptian 
mummy.  Her  color  was  heightened  a  little  as 
she  plunged  into  the  details  of  her  capture  and  our 
deliverance. 

She  had  been  surprised  by  Jean  while  in  quest 
of  specimens  of  rock,  in  which  she  was  interested. 
He  had  approached  her  in  the  most  casual,  offhand 
manner,  and  as  he  appeared  a  perfect  gentleman, 
she  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  a  city 
man  out  for  a  little  shooting.  His  manner  was 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

prepossessing,  and  he  was  so  agreeable  and  en 
tertaining,  she  thought  it  no  harm  to  be  sociable. 
When  she  started  for  home  he  became  offensively 
lover-like  which  made  her  uneasy  at  first.  She 
had  met  Frenchmen  and  Italians  of  the  so-called 
better  class  before,  however,  and  found  them  al 
ways  agreeable  to  declare  themselves  in  love  with 
the  first  pretty  face  they  saw.  So  she  was  not 
seriously  alarmed  until  he  seized  her  horse's 
bridle,  and  told  her  she  would  have  to  accompany 
him  on  a  little  picnic  whether  she  cared  to  or  not. 
She  struck  him  in  the  face  with  her  quirt  and 
dismounted  trying  to  escape  on  foot.  He  over 
took  her,  bound  her  to  her  horse  and  brought  her 
into  camp. 

It  seems  our  rescuers  Mad  been  attracted  by  the 
sound  of  shots  and  in  the  excitement,  had  ridden 
up  unnoticed,  until  they  had  the  band  covered  at 
so  short  a  range  that  any  attempt  at  resistance 
would  have  been  folly.  In  those  days,  and  in  that 
locality,  men  were  loth  to  mix  in  the  gun  quarrels 
of  others,  but  the  sight  of  a  woman  in  distress  was 
always  every  true  man's  business.  Louise  quick 
ly  put  them  in  possession  of  the  salient  facts  of 
our  misfortune;  and  as  soon  as  they  learned  that 
"Dandy  Jean"  was  in  their  power,  being  aware  of 
the  enormous  reward  for  his  capture,  digging  gold 
out  of  the  mountains  lost  its  attractiveness.  They 
treated  Louise  and  me  with  the  greatest  consider 
ation,  carrying  me  most  of  the  way  on  a  litter  im 
provised  from  a  canvas  tent  and  poles. 

The  days  of  convalescence  which  followed  were 

dream  days  for  me.     Louise  read  to  me  much  of 

the    time, — to    avoid    conversation,     I    believe, — 

sometimes  from  Browning,  Burns  or  Shakespeare; 

52 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

but  usually  some  romance,  as  I  shamelessly  and 
emphatically  avowed  a  preference  for  that  kind  of 
literature  which  I  had  hitherto  held  in  contempt. 
I  wanted  to  learn  the  ways  of  gentile  lovers,  and 
felt  that  Louise  must  have  formed  her  ideals  of 
lovers  and  manhood  from  the  heroes  of  such  tales. 
It  only  made  it  harder  for  me.  I  experienced  the 
burning,  exalted  sentiments  toward  her  that  they 
expressed  so  glibly,  but  I  found  it  impossible  to  do 
and  say  the  things  that  seemed  so  natural  for 
them.  My  desire  to  convert  her  to  Mormonism 
was  undiminished,  but  I  was  afraid  to  mention  the 
subject  for  fear  of  her  resuming  her  former  atti 
tude.  Her  treatment  of  me  was  much  the  same  as 
that  bestowed  on  Edward  Jr.,  only  I  did  not  re 
ceive  the  caresses  lavished  on  him,  for  which  I 
envied  the  little  beggar. 

One  afternoon,  the  second  week  of  my  convales 
cence,  Louise  was  reading  the  "Lady  of  the  Lake" 
to  me  on  the  veranda,  and  had  reached  that  part  of 
the  combat  wrhere  James  Fitz  James  defied  Roder 
ick  and  his  robber  band.  "Come  one,  come  all ! 
this  rock  shall  fly  from  its  firm  base  as  soon  as 
I,"  she  read,  and  paused  to  remark  that  these  lines 
had  flashed  through  her  mind  the  night  I  had 
fought  "Dandy  Jean"  and  his  band,  single-handed. 
At  that  moment  we  were  most  inopportunely  in 
terrupted.  I'd  just  nerved  myself  to  make  a  dec 
laration  of  my  love, — the  swinging  rhythm  of  the 
poetry  had  given  the  inspiration,  and  Louise's 
cordial  mood  the  courage — when  Henry  and  moth 
er  rode  up  in  a  buckboard.  I  was  glad  to  see  my 
mother  but  felt  the  pleasure  would  have  been  en 
hanced  had  it  been  deferred  an  hour  or  so.  Mother 
was  always  shy  in  the  presence  of  strangers  but 

53 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

her  diffidence  quickly  wore  off  under  Louise's  en 
gaging  smile  and  tactful  manner. 

When  Henry  had  secured  his  team  and  joined 
us  on  the  veranda,  it  was  not  without  a  feeling 
of  pride  that  I  introduced  him  to  Louise  as  my 
father.  However,  I  felt  a  vague  sense  of  uneasi 
ness,  for  I  knew  their  coming  foreshadowed  my 
early  departure  from  Dreamland  to  sordid  real 
ity.  But  I  little  dreamed  that  this  visit  would  have 
the  far  reaching  effect  on  my  future  that  actually 
resulted. 

When  I  presented  him  to  Louise,  he  uncovered 
his  handsome  head,  bowed  deferentially  with  the 
courtly  grace  for  which  he  was  noted,  and  tak 
ing  in  her  face  and  figure  with  one  quick  appre 
ciative  glance,  said  in  his  deep  well  modulated 
voice, 

"I  came  to  condole  with  my  son  in  his  misfor 
tune,  in  being  forced  to  lie  still  this  ideal 
weather,  but  I  find  he  is  more  to  be  envied  than 
pitied.  Find  me  the  young  man  who  would  not 
endure  twice  the  danger  and  pain  for  the  privi 
lege  of  being  nursed  by  so  charming  a  young 
lady." 

His  manner  and  tone  of  voice  robbed  the  re 
mark  of  undue  familiarity  and  took  it  out  of  the 
category  of  florid  compliment.  Nevertheless,  it  irri 
tated  me. 

Louise  had  been  discreetly  observing  him  with 
much  the  same  expression  I  had  noticed  on  her 
face  when  she  was  examining  a  new  specimen  of 
rock,  which  she  could  not  for  the  moment  classify. 

"I  fear  you  exaggerate  the  importance  of  my 
efforts  in  the  care  of  your  son,  which,  I  am  sure 
is  but  a  small  return  for  the  risks  he  encountered 
for  my  sake." 

54 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

I  could  see  that  Henry  was  impressed  with 
the  cool,  indifferent  assurance  with  which  she  an 
swered  him.  He  smiled  benevolently  at  us,  and 
picked  up  the  "Lady  of  the  Lake,"  which  Louise 
had  laid  down.  With  a  glance  at  the  title  he  shot 
a  reproving  glance  in  my  direction,  then  turned 
to  Louise  and  said: 

"I  see  your  taste  for  reading  is  inclined  toward 
what  is  called  good  literature.  There  was  a  time 
in  my  boyhood  when  I  thought  such  reading  worth 
while.  I  have  learned,  however,  that  one  has 
scarcely  enough  time,  after  the  day's  work  in  the 
upbuilding  of  the  Kingdom,  to  read  God's  word, 
and  the  word  of  his  prophets.  This  reading,"  tap 
ping  the  book  with  his  finger,  "diverts  the 
thoughts  from  the  true  faith,  and  gives  rise  to 
unrighteous  and  sinful  ideas.  I  hope  that  some 
time  some  saintly  genius  of  fiction  and  poetry  will 
put  the  soul-stirring  deeds  of  God's  saints  into 
verse.  I  trust  Joseph  has  not  neglected  the  op 
portunity  of  sowing  the  seed  of  the  true  faith  on 
the  fertile  soil  of  your  quick  intellect." 

As  he  progressed  in  this  condescending  manner, 
I  knew  by  the  way  Louise's  neck  began  to  arch, 
that  we  were  getting  into  deep  water,  and  it  was 
with  an  undutiful  feeling  of  pleasurable  anticipa 
tion  that  I  waited  for  the  biting  sarcasm  which  I 
knew  would  be  soon  stinging  his  thick-hided  com 
placency. 

Louise  looked  at  him  composedly  without  a 
trace  of  resentment  in  her  innocent  blue  eyes 
(which  innocence  was  treacherously  misleading). 

"From  what  I  have  heard  of  your  faith,"  she 
replied,  "I  am  sure  that  you  are  not  lacking  in  re 
ligious  fiction.  Your  son  did,  I  believe,  once  at 
tempt  to  sow  the  seed  of  your  faith  in  my  direc- 
55 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

tion,  but  he  has  never  repeated  the  attempt.  It 
found  a  luxurious  growth  of  real  religion  which 
is  utilizing  all  the  soil  available, — a  religion  that 
courts  investigation  and  favors  education;  that 
looks  with  a  kindly  eye  on  the  reading  of  brave 
deeds  of  honest  men  and  women ;  and  with  an 
eye  of  scorn  on  the  hypocrite  and  false  prophet." 

The  expression  on  Henry's  face  changed  from  ur 
bane  complacency,  first  to  angry  resentment,  then 
to  the  deferential  courtesy  he  reserved  for  a  worthy 
opponent,  and  one  whom  he  had  determined  to 
punish. 

He  smiled  with  a  splendid  semblance  of  in 
dulgence,  saying,  "You  are  in  no  mood  for  un 
biased  discussion  of  religion.  I  hope  for  a  more 
auspicious  opportunity  to  talk  of  the  matter  with 
you  again.  Won't  you  tell  me  something  of  your 
self  and  your  life  in  St.  Louis?" 

Louise,  evidently  feeling  that  she  had  scored  a 
victory,  and  always  ready  to  talk  of  home,  read 
ily  complied. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HENRY  and  Edward  carried  me  into  the  dining 
room,  where,  lying  propped  up  on  the  couch  near 
the  table,  I  could  in  a  measure  join  them  in  the 
evening  meal.  I  noticed  that  Edward's  attitude 
of  disturbed  uneasiness,  always  discernible  when 
in  the  presence  of  his  father-in-law,  was  more 
marked  than  usual.  I  attributed  it  to  the  fact 
that  as  the  meal  progressed,  Henry  devoted  his 
conversation  to  Louise,  who  seemed  to  be  in  an 
unusually  vivacious  mood.  Edward  listened  to 
their  spirited  repartee,  with  downcast  eyes,  eat 
ing  little.  My  mother  and  sister  talked  in  the 
subdued  whispers  used  by  inferiors  in  the  pres 
ence  of  their  superiors,  while  I  had  little  appetite 
for  the  dainty  repast  prepared  for  me  by  the  lov-. 
ing  hands  of  my  mother,  and  composed  of  the 
things  she  knew  I  liked  best. 

I  had  begun  to  feel  that  nothing  good  would 
come  of  this  meeting  between  Henry  and  Louise. 
The  more  I  thought  of  the  possible  consequences, 
the  more  terrified  I  became.  The  interested,  gal 
lant  gaiety  with  which  he  led  the  conversation, 
did  not  tend  to  lessen  my  fear,  which  far  tran 
scended  that  which  I  had  experienced  in  my  ad 
ventures  with  the  outlaws.  While  battling  with 
them,  I  seemed  to  have  an  inner  consciousness 
that  all  would  be  well  in  the  end ;  but  here  was  an 
unexpected  and  seemingly  ridiculous  sense  of  dan- 
57 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

ger  that  refused  to  be  quieted.  I  attempted  to  re 
assure  myself  with  the  thought  that  I  was  absurd 
ly  jealous  of  my  own  father,  who  was,  no  doubt, 
making  himself  agreeable  as  a  preparation  for 
sowing  the  seed  of  our  faith. 

I  was  in  a  position  to  watch  Henry's  animated 
face,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  began  to 
study  this  man  who  had  brought  me  into  the 
world,  and  whose  word  to  me  was  obeyed  as  law. 
I  watched  the  changing  expressions  on  his  face, 
and  in  the  light  of  past  events,  tried  to  acquaint 
myself  with  his  character  as  it  really  was.  It  had 
dawned  on  me  that,  like  my  mother,  I  had  always 
looked  up  to  him  as  a  powerful  instrument  of 
God,  who  could  do  no  wrong.  My  reading  and 
my  conversations  with  Louise  and  Edward,  had 
given  me  a  new  prospective,  and  it  occurred  to 
me  that  he  might  not  be  what  he  seemed.  At  this 
juncture  Louise  suddenly  inquired  what  had  be 
come  of  "Dandy  Jean." 

I  thought  I  noticed  Henry's  starting  at  the  un 
expected  question,  but  his  offhand  answer  dis 
pelled  the  impression. 

"I  believe  he  managed  to  escape  shortly  after 
being  turned  over  to  the  authorities.  Was  not 
that  the  report,  Sister?"  turning  to  my  mother, 
who  assented. 

He  did  not  seem  to  relish  the  topic  and  changed 
the  subject  by  remarking  that,  he  hoped  Edward 
had  prevailed  upon  his  niece  to  make  her  home  in 
"Zion." 

I  thought  I  detected  a  note  of  defiance  in  Ed 
ward's  voice  as  he  replied:  "My  niece  came  here  as 
my  guest  for  the  mountain  air  during  vacation,  and 
because  she  had  no  more  suitable  place  to  go.  She 

58 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

came  with  the  understanding  that  she  was  to  re 
turn  at  her  pleasure  and  that  I  was  to  see  her  safe 
ly  back  to  St.  Louis." 

Whatever  Henry's  thoughts  were,  he  did  not  al 
low  a  hint  of  them  to  appear  in  his  face.  I 
now  believe  he  must  have  observed  me  watching 
him  intently,  for  with  the  diplomatic  resourceful 
ness  that  made  him  more  formidable  than  any  other 
quality,  he  remarked: 

"It  is  possible  that  Joseph  may  be  able  to  offer  an 
argument  that  will  convince  Miss  Louise's  judg 
ment,"  and  he  cast  a  sly,  merry  glance  in  my  direc 
tion. 

That  remark  served  to  lull  the  suspicions  that 
had  begun  to  grow  in  my  mind.  I  began  to  feel 
ashamed  for  entertaining  such  unworthy  thoughts 
of  so  great  and  good  a  man.  A  little  flattery  on 
the  subject  which  is  uppermost  in  the  mind  of  the 
flattered,  and  nearest  to  the  heart,  works  won 
ders,  especially  wth  a  lad  of  eighteen  who  is  very 
much  in  love. 

I  could  not  see  Louise's  face,  as  her  back  was 
toward  me,  but  I  could  imagine  the  indifferent 
composure  thereon  as  she  replied,  "Your  remark 
is  most  flattering,  Mr.  Lorenzo.  Indeed,  I  am 
led  to  suspect  that  while  yon  have  been  too  busy  in 
the  work  of  the  Kingdom,  as  you  call  it,  to  de 
vote  any  time  to  literature,  you  must  have  found 
ample  time  to  cultivate  the  very  difficult  art  of 
properly  flattering  the  vanity  of  the  feminine  sex. 
But  no  doubt  that  all  comes  in  a  Prophet's  day's 
work.  You  will  be  indulgent,  I  know,  if  I  appear 
very  ignorant  of  your  customs." 

At  this  juncture,  Edward  and  his  wife  rose  from 
the  table,  followed  by  the  others,  and  Edward 
59 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

turned  the  conversation  into  less  dangerous  chan 
nels. 

Such  remarks  from  Louise  were  two  edged,  and 
cut  me  more  keenly  than  they  ever  could  Henry. 
It  wounded  me  deeply  to  hear  the  woman  I  loved 
uttering  veiled,  but  none  the  less  scathing  asper 
sions  on  the  good  faith  of  my  people  and  their 
religion.  I  spent  many  hours  that  night  tossing 
about  on  my  bed,  trying  to  devise  some  means  of 
approaching  the  subject  of  religion  with  Louise, 
without  offending  and  antagonizing  her  and  so  los 
ing  the  ground  I  had  gained.  These  thoughts  oc 
cupied  my  mind  so  fully,  that  I  forgot  Henry  and 
the  fears  I  had  entertained  earlier  in  the  evening. 

The  next  morning  Henry  came  to  my  room  at 
the  first  break  of  day.  He  told  me  that  he  was 
going  back  to  the  city,  and  would  send  the  buck- 
board  and  team  after  mother  and  me  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days,  as  the  doctor  had  told  him  that  I 
could  be  moved  in  that  time.  Then,  sitting  down 
on  the  bed,  he  became  very  grave. 

"My  son,  it  is  high  time  that  you  set  out  on  a  mis 
sion  to  spread  the  revelations  which  God,  in  his  in 
finite  wisdom,  has  seen  fit  to  reveal  to  the  Latter  Day 
Saints.  Indeed,  it  has  been  revealed  to  me  this  njght 
that  the  Lord  has  willed  you  should  go.  Has  not  the 
Spirit  visited  you,  too,  my  son?" 

His  grave  saintly  manner  brought  me  back,  to  a 
certain  extent  under  the  influence  of  his  will,  as  noth 
ing  else  could  have  done.  For  the  past  four  or  five 
years  I  had  waited  longingly  for  the  call  to  go 
out  on  a  mission ;  but  now  that  the  path  lay  open 
before  me,  it  was  with  difficulty  and  without  en 
thusiasm  that  I  assured  him  of  my  willingness  to 
answer  the  call. 

60 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

No  trace  of  what  was  going  on  in  his  mind  ap 
peared  on  his  stern,  handsome  face  as  he  said :  "You 
were  ever  a  dutiful  son,  ardent  in  the  faith  and 
obedient  to  the  word.  May  you  ever  be  so.  Such 
qualities  will  carry  you  far  in  this  world,  and  secure 
you  a  brilliant  crown  in  the  world  to  come.  It  will 
be  best  for  you  to  return  to  town  as  soon  as  you 
are  able,  that  you  may  begin  the  work  of  prepar 
ing  for  your  departure." 

He  then  knelt  down  beside  my  bed  and  prayed 
long  and  exhaustively,  but  with  a  fervor  and  spon 
taneity  I  have  never  heard  equalled  in  extempo 
raneous  prayer.  He  arose,  shook  hands,  and  de 
parted  without  another  word.  I  would  soon  have 
to  leave  the  sweet  presence  of  the  girl  I  loved,  and 
the  thought  of  leaving  her  filled  me  with  a  sense 
of  utter  desolation.  Ther  it  occurred  to  me  that  I 
might  carry  on  my  mission  work  in  the  east  where 
she  was  teaching,  and  this  possibility  filled  me  with 
hope.  In  any  event,  I  would  ask  her  to  be  my  wife 
before  I  left. 

I  believe  that  everyone  was  relieved  to  find  that 
Henry  had  left — certainly,  Edward  was  unusually 
jovial. 

The  next  few  days  offered  no  opportunity  to  talk 
with  Louise  alone. 

The  evening  before  I  left  that  valley  of  enchant 
ment,  however,  the  longed-for  but  dreaded  oppor 
tunity  presented  itself.  I  was  now  able  to  walk 
with  the  aid  of  a  cane.  The  others  had  all  retired 
early,  leaving  Louise  and  me  sitting  on  the  ve 
randa.  The  fact  that  she  remained  to  talk  with  me, 
after  the  others  had  left,  sent  my  spirits  soaring. 

We  sat  in  silence  for  several  minutes  before  I 
had  sufficiently  composed  myself  to  speak.  It  has 
61 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

ever  been  my  way  to  plunge  directly  to  the  point ; 
and,  I  am  afraid,  never  in  the  history  of  the  world 
was  there  a  more  brutally  matter-of-fact  declara 
tion  of  love  and  offer  of  marriage.  I  am  certain  no 
lover  ever  felt  that  fact  more  keenly,  or  longed  for 
the  easy  grace  and  silver  tongue  of  the  gallant  sup 
pliant  more  than  I. 

We  had  been  sitting  but  a  few  feet  apart  when 
I  began  to  speak,  and  I  leaned  toward  her,  drink 
ing  in  the  spiritual  beauty  of  her  face,  bathed  in 
the  bright  moonlight.  She  did  not  move  or  speak 
for  some  time.  Finally  she  turned  her  beautiful 
face  toward  me,  and  said  softly: 

"I  have  suspected  this  for  some  time,  Joe,"  (that 
name  on  her  lips  gave  me  a  thrill  of  joy  such  as  I 
had  never  experienced)  "and  I  am  sorry.  I  believe 
you  are  as  true,  good,  and  pure  minded  a  boy  as  I 
have  ever  met,  but  your  religion  makes  an  abso 
lutely  insurmountable  barrier." 

I  started  to  speak,  but  she  interrupted. 

"Don't,  Joe,  I  am  very  fond  of  you  and  it  would 
hurt  me  to  hear  you  defend  what  I  know  to  be 
false  and  wicked.  Don't  misunderstand  me.  I 
believe  you  are  absolutely  sincere  in  your  beliefs, 
and  that  you  are  the  helpless  victim  of  the  sins  of 
the  father,  for  which  you  are  not  accountable.  You 
are  about  to  set  out  on  what  you  call  a  mission, 
which  will  carry  you  out  into  the  world  that  is  my 
world.  You  will  see  more  apparent  wickedness 
there,  I  regret  to  say,  than  you  would  ever  see  in 
"Zion."  It  is  not  because  of  our  religion,  how 
ever,  but  in  spite  of  it.  Men  and  women  may 
choose,  there,  whether  they  will  live  a  life  of  good 
or  of  evil.  I  believe,  yes,  I  know  that  the  doctrine 
of  plural  marriage  which  is  one  of  the  essential 
62 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

dogmas  of  your  faith,  is  wicked  and  in  defiance  to 
the  laws  of  God  and  man.  I  am  going  to  ask  you 
to  do  something  which  I  hope  will  some  day  bring 
about  our  mutual  happiness.  While  you  are  on 
your  mission,  make  a  study  of  what  you  call  the 
gentile  religion.  Attend  the  churches  there,  and 
seek  out  the  learned  men  of  the  gospel,  and  see  if 
the  religion  you  espouse  so  warmly  will  withstand 
the  tests  of  logic  and  the  uncontrovertible  facts  of 
history.  Visit  Palmyra,  New  York,  and  learn  from 
the  old  residents  what  manner  of  man  this  Joseph 
Smith,  who  started  your  belief,  was.  In  short,  in 
vestigate  your  religion,  which  you  make  the  ruling 
law  of  your  life.  If  it  is  genuine,  it  will  withstand 
these  tests.  Then  come  to  me,  and  if  you  honestly 
believe  in  it,  I  will,  perhaps,  listen  to  you.  Will 
you  promise  to  do  that  for  me,  Joe?" 

Gladly  I  assented  with  fervor.  But  before  I  could 
say  anything  further,  she  arose,  and  with  a  tender, 
"Thank  you.  Good  night,"  retreated  quickly  into 
the  house.  I  followed  and  sought  my  bed,  not  to 
rest,  but  to  lie  awake  and  live  again  the  scene  that 
had  just  ensued. 

The  next  day  Henry  arrived  in  the  buckboard, 
leading  a  saddled  horse  behind  him.  He  said  he 
intended  to  inspect  some  mining  claims  farther  up 
the  canyon,  which  would  take  a  day  or  two,  and 
that  mother  and  I  could  drive  home  alone.  His 
attitude  toward  Louise  was  so  changed  that  the 
sense  of  danger,  aroused  anew  at  his  intention  to 
remain  there,  was  again  lulled.  He  treated  her 
with  a  distant,  preoccupied  indifference. 

I  had  no  opportunity  for  another  talk  with 
Louise  alone.  I  suspect  she  avoided  it.  However, 
she  managed  to  give  me  a  little  package,  unnoticed, 
63 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

with  instructions  not  to  open  it  until  I  was  well  on 
my  way  eastward.  She  said  also,  that  her  address 
was  in  the  package. 

She  rode  along  the  trail  with  us  on  horse-back  for 
a  mile  or  so.  I  like  to  remember  her  as  I  saw  her 
that  day,  her  lithe  little  figure  perched  gracefully  on 
the  spirited  old  roan;  a  sombrero  sitting  jauntily  at 
an  angle  on  her  head  which  was  turned  a  little  to 
one  side;  a  stray  lock  of  soft  brown  hair  flirting 
about  her  face,  first  across  the  blue  eyes,  then  touch 
ing  the  dainty  lips,  to  be  caught  by  her  tiny,  gaunt- 
leted  hand,  and  brushed  carelessly  under  her  hat. 
Only  one  of  the  masters  could  have  done  her  justice. 
She  waved  gaily  as  a  turn  in  the  trail  hid  her  from 
view. 


PART  II 


PART    II 


CHAPTER  I. 

TWO  months  later  I  was  seated  in  the  day  coach  of 
an  east-bound  train,  gazing  out  of  the  window  with 
unseeing  eyes,  vainly  trying  to  readjust  my  sense  of 
proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the  country  I  had 
travelled  through.  Before  I  left  "Zion,"  I  had  re 
ceived  my  first  lessons  in  geography,  and  much  advice 
and  information  as  to  the  life  and  customs  of  the 
people  with  whom  I  was  to  mingle  and  to  teach.  I 
had  ridden  horseback  as  far  as  Denver,  and  up  to 
that  time,  all  went  famously.  I  was  at  home  in  the 
mountains,  and  traveling  in  an  accustomed  manner. 
But  when  the  ugly  snorting  engine  of  modern  travel 
sped  across  the  bare,  forbidding  prairies  to  the  east 
ward,  taking  me  from  the  world  I  knew  and  loved, 
to  the  world  unknown,  and  beginning  to  be  dreaded, 
the  full  realization  of  my  position  burst  upon  me. 

If  the  reader  has  ever  left  home  and  loved  ones 
to  seek  a  fortune  in  a  strange  land,  without  funds 
and  without  so  much  as  an  acquaintance  in  the  fields 
of  his  future  activities,  he  will  understand  the  over 
powering  sense  of  desolation  that  fell  upon  me;  if 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

not  no  words  can  convey  to  the  inexperienced,  one- 
tenth  part  of  that  feeling.  It  was  more  like  a  hide 
ous  dream  to  my  excited  fancies  than  a  stern  reality 
The  cheerfulness  of  some  of  my  fellow  travellers,  the 
preoccupation  of  others,  and  the  indifference  of  all  to 
those  about  them,  added  to  my  feeling  of  isolated 
loneliness.  I  was  accustomed  to  greeting  every  man 
I  met  as  brother  and  receiving  the  same  cordial 
recognition.  In  the  bustling  city  of  Chicago  I  was 
buffeted  about  by  the  crowd  at  the  station,  and  quite 
generally  cursed  for  my  awkwardness.  No  atten 
tion  was  paid  to  me,  unless  I  happened  to  get  in 
the  way.  I  was  as  unfamiliar  with  travelling  as 
though  I  had  just  landed  from  Mars.  Truly  this 
was  a  selfish,  brutal  and  unrighteous  world,  with 
large  opportunities  for  the  teaching  of  the  better 
ing  influences  of  God's  ways.  I  had  come  to  this 
con-elusion,  and  was  wondering  how  so  intelligent  and 
refined  a  person  as  Louise  could  call  this  her  world, 
when  my  thoughts  were  interrupted  by  the  occupant 
of  the  seat  opposite  me. 

He  had  turned  the  back  of  the  seat  over  and 
stretched  himself  out  for  a  nap,  snoring  lustily.  I 
had  become  accustomed  to  being  near  people  and 
ignoring  their  presence  so  gave  him  no  special  at 
tention,  until  he  addresed  me. 

"Say,  Bill,  how's  yer  smokin'?" 

I  turned  and  noted  he  was  a  youth  of  about  my 
own  age.  His  loud  plaid  suit  was  very  much  soiled 
and  wrinkled,  but  he  wore  a  pair  of  low-cut  patent 
bather  shoes  and  a  tie  of  brilliant  red.  His  face  was 
such  as  I  have  since  learned  to  classify  as  that  of  a 
fast  young  man,  who  is  without  means  to  keep  up 
the  momentum, — "a  would-be  sport"  to  use  a  collo 
quial  expression.  Despite  that,  there  was  something 
prepossessing  about  his  appearance ;  a  certain  good- 
rn  tii  red,  worldly-wise,  friendly  tolerance  in  the  ex- 


•IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

pression  of  his  eyes,  that,  inexperienced  as  I  was, 
caused  me  to  feel  that,  in  spite  of  his  dress  and  man 
ner,  he  was  one  who  could  be  trusted,  and  one  who 
had  seen  much  of  the  world. 

"If  you  mean  tobacco/'  I  replied,  "I  never  use  it." 

"Huh,"  he  said,  with  some  disappointment,  look 
ing  at  me  with  interest.  ''Where  ud  ya  come  from? 
What's  yer  line?" 

"I  came  from  Zion.  As  to  what  my  line  is,  I  do 
not  understand  you,"  I  replied. 

"Zion !  Where  tha  devil's  that  ?  Place  the  Meth- 
dist  is  always  hollerin'  'bout?  What  da  ya  do?" 

"I  am  a  Latter  Day  Saint,  working  for  God  and 
His  Kingdom,"  I  answered  proudly. 

"A  saint!  Working  fer  Gawd!  Got  a  d stidy 

job,  ain't  ya?  Yer  the  first  home-grown  saint  I've 
run  in  ta.  Most  of  them  iz  dagoes,  ain't  they? 
What's  the  graft?" 

"I  do  not  understand  all  you  say,  but  I  hope  my 
work  in  the  service  of  the  Lord  will  go  on  forever." 

He  seemed  to  pay  very  little  attention  to  my  an 
swers,  and  surveyed  me  with  a  critical  stare,  which 
was  robbed  of  some  of  its  rudeness  by  the  interested 
solicitude  of  his  expression. 

"Them's  purty  good  rags  ya  got  there,"  he  said 
after  a  moment  of  silence,  "and  ya  look  like  three 
square  meals  reg'lar.  Now  saint  business  must  be  a 
purty  fair  lay." 

I  was  somewhat  irritated  by  his  easy  familiarity, 
and  the  fact  that  I  could  not  understand  all  he  said. 
He  paused  a  minute,  and  as  I  did  not  answer,  asked 
with  a  sly  twinkle  in  his  eye:  "Preach  some?" 

I  answered  rather  coldly  that  I  was  setting  out  on 
a  mision  to  preach  the  will  of  God  as  revealed  to  the 
Latter  Day  Saints. 

"Ain't  got  ya  yet,"  he  said  with  a  puzzled  frown. 

69 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIG  PI  AM    YOUNG 

"What  brand  of  truth  iz  this  Latter  Day  Saint  gos 
pel  ?"  He  pronounced  the  word  "gospel"  in  a 
way  that  was  intended  to  give  me  the  impression 
that  he  was  not  so  ignorant  of  religion  as  I  may  have 
thought. 

It  occurred  to  me  then  that  we  were  known  to  the 
Gentile  world  as  Mormons,  so  I  said :  "We  are  called 
Mormons  by  the  Gentiles.  Perhaps  you  have  heard 
of  us  by  that  name." 

"By  the  Gentiles  ?"  he  blinked.  Then  with  a  broad, 
knowing  smile:  "Quit  yer  kiddin'  me,  pal.  Whacher 
doin',  sellin'  da  clodhings?  Ain't  ya  a  'clodhings- 
house'  man?" 

"But  I  do  not  understand  you/ 

"Ain't  ya  a  sheeny?"  he  asked  rather  sheepishly. 

"You  are  beyond  my  depth,  my  friend,"  I  re 
plied  completely  at  sea;  "but  by  the  people  who  are 
not  of  our  faith,  we  are  called  Mormons." 

"Ah,  now  I  got  ya,"  he  sighed,  apparently  much 
relieved,  and  with  this,  he  straightened  up  with  ani 
mation  saying,  "Sure!  Read  about  ya  in  a  Sunday 
paper,  a  little  while  ago."  Then,  poking  me  with  his 
finger  he  genially  inquired:  "How  many  ya  got?" 

"How  many  what?"    Again  I  was  puzzled. 

"Wives,  dames,  fluzies,"  he  said,  with  an  impatient 
wave  of  the  hand. 

"I  am  not  married  yet,"  I  answered  with  frigid 
dignity.  "Saints  do  not  marry  until  they  are  able 
to  support  their  wives  and  children." 

I  believe  he  had  mental  reservations,  as  to  the  ver 
acity  of  my  answer. 

"Where  ya  goin'  for  converts?" 

"To  New  York." 

"What!  New  York  City?" 

"No,  I  intend  to  stop  at  Palmyra,  New  York,  and 
visit,  the  place  where  the  great  Prophet  Joseph  Smith 

•70 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   BR1GHAM    YOUNG 

was  first  visited  by  a  revelation  from  the  Most  High-: 
and  emulate  his  example,  by  starting  to  teach  there." 

"I  was  goin'  to  say,  that  the  big  town  would  be 
a  bad  huntin'  ground  for  a  wheater  like  youse.  If 
ya  got  the  price  ta  git  there,  keep  it  in  yer  geens, 
'cause  yer  graft  won't  go  there.  Ya  wouldn't  make 
'nough  ta  keep  yer  in  cakes,  not  ta  talk  about  any 
wives.  Say !"  brightening  up  and  fairly  glowing 
with  enthusiasm,  "tell  ya  what  I'll  do.  I'm  busted. 
Let's  hook  up.  I  have  my  'ups  and  downs.'  Just 
at  the  present  writin'  I'm  down.  I  ain't  never 
missed  no  meals  yet,  but  I've  had  to  posepone 
several.  I'll  do  a  song  and  dance  stunt  to  git  the 
crowd,— and  while  yer  a  preachin',  I'll  pass  around 
the  hat  and  rake  in  the  shekels  an'  we'll  split  the 
mazuma  equals.  I'm  experienced  !  Done  the  stunt 
for  a  patent  medicine  man  all  through  Jersey  last 
summer.  I  had  a  lot  of  songs  an'  jokes  that  made 
the  potato-bug  wallapers  in  Jersey  tear  their  whisk 
ers  out  a  laughin'.  What  da  ya  say?" 

"It  is  my  duty  to  enlist  everyone  that  I  can  in 
our  cause,  but  not  for  the  purpose  of  gain.  If  you 
are  truly  interested  in  our  faith,  and  desire  to  be 
come  a  worker  in  the  Kingdom,  I  shall  be  glad  and 
proud  to  teach  you  the  principles  that  govern  our 
lives.  You  will  find  it  irksome  at  first,  as  we  have 
a  high  standard  of  morals.  We  do  not  believe  in 
the  use  of  tobacco  or  stimulants,  and  are  guided 
by  God's  will  in  our  every  action." 

I  felt  in  duty  bound  to  encourage  him ;  but  I 
also  felt  that  he  was  not  the  type  of  man-  I  wanted 
to  attract  to  our  cause.  I  thought  myself  very 
diplomatic  in  calling  to  his  attention  the  things 
that  I  thought  would  frighten  him  away. 

"Sure !'  he  said,  with  enthuisasm,  "that's  the  way 

71 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

ta  do  business.  I  was  in  a  strike  wonst,  and  I  was 
that  hottest  one  in  the  bunch  at  makin'  times  lively. 
If  yer  goin'  in  with  a  bunch,  be  the  hottest  one  for 
the  hottest  things.  That's  the  way  to  git  where 
you'll  be  in  sight.  Now  in  this  saint  business,  my 
way  of  figurin'  is  ta  take  all  of  tha  hot  subjects  an' 
keep  'em  pipin'  hot.  If  ya  believe  this  feller  Smith, 
shout  loud  an'  hard  for  'im ;  if  ya  believe  in  more 
than  one  wife,  hang  out  for  as  many  as  a  dozen 
anyhow.  The  feller  that  hollers  loudest  for  the 
noisiest  things  iz  the  one  that  makes  the  folks  set 
up  and  notice.  I'm  sick  of  tha  sportin'  life.  A 
good  trip  on  tha  water  wagin  with  religion  fer  a 
bracer  ought  a  put  me  in  trim  in  a  couple  a 
months." 

"If  you  are  sincere,  and  intend  to  lead  a  new  life, 
following  our  teachings  with  a  humble  and  obe 
dient  desire  to  help  in  the  work  of  the  Kingdom, 
wich  no  thought  of  gain  to  yourself,  I  will  give 
you  the  book  of  Mormon,  and  articles  written  by 
holy  men,  that  you  may  know  the  truth  of  the 
only  true  religion.  If  you  are  still  anxious  to  be 
come  one  of  us,  you  may  go  to  Zion,  or  stay  here 
among  the  gentiles  and  work  for  the  faith.  As  for 
your  proposal  that  we  travel  together,  I  do  not  be 
lieve  it  feasible.  I  do  not  expect  to  preach  much. 
I  intend  to  go  quietly  from  house  to  house,  telling 
people  of  our  ways  and  good  works,  and  leaving 
tracts  with  the  true  principles  of  Christianity  at 
each  home.  If,  after  I  have  been  in  a  community 
for  some  time,  there  is  a  sufficient  number  inter 
ested  to  warrant  it,  I  will  preach  to  the  people  as 
sembled  in  some  proper  place." 

"You'll  find  that  purty  slow  ,and  the  coin  mighty 
scarce.  Now  my  idea  iz  business-like,  an*  up  ta 
72 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

date :  Ya  can  leave  yer  tracks  over  the  hull  country 
in  the  day  time  an'  git  in  the  park  of  the  nearest 
village  at  night.  I'll  stir  up  the  noise  an'  git  the 
crowd,  and  you  give  'em  the  talk,  an'  I'll  pass  the 
lid." 

It  is  an  inflexible  rule  of  the  Mormons  that  their 
missionaries  shall  pay  their  own  way,  and  not  re 
ceive  aid  in  any  way,  shape,  or  form  from  home. 
It  is  the  custom  for  the  father  of  a  missionary  to 
hold  a  reception  at  the  stake-house  the  night  before 
the  missionary  sets  out,  and  invite  all  friends,  rela 
tives  and  neighbors  to  attend,  all  of  whom  are  ex- 
nected  to  donate  a  small  sum  toward  paying  the 
expenses  of  the  missionary  to  the  field  of  his  ac 
tivity.  This  custom  was  followed  in  my  case,  and 
I  was  greatly  surprised  at  the  amount,  which  to 
talled  over  three  hundred  dollars.  I  have  since 
concluded  that  Henry  wanted  to  make  sure  that  I 
would  begin  my  work  a  long  distance  from  home, 
and  swelled  the  collection  from  his  pocket.  And, 
too,  he  gave  me  a  horse,  which  I  disposed  of  in 
Denver  for  one  hundred  dollars. 

The  enthusiasm  of  my  new  friend  was  infec 
tious.  Besides,  I  longed  for  the  opportunity  to 
speak  in  public,  as  I  was  imbued  with  the  idea  that 
I  had  extraordinary  powers  along  this  line.  Then, 
too ,  I  was  inexpressibly  lonely,  and  the  happy, 
world-wise,  good-fellowship  of  this  young  man 
appealed  to  me  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  in 
many  respects,  repellent.  We  finally  agreed,  just 
before  the  train  pulled  into  Buffalo,  to  cast  our 
fortunes  in  together,  and  to  separate  when  either 
party  became  dissatisfied. 

"We'll    bind    the    bargain    by    tellin'    our    real 
names,'  said  he.    "Mine's  Tom  Craig.     Shake!" 
73 


CHAPTER  II. 

We  left  Buffalo  the  next  morning  provided  with 
a  ticket  for  Lyons,  N.  Y.  Tom  persuaded  me  that 
it  would  be  best  to  defer  my  visit  to  Palmyra  for 
the  season  during  which  we  could  hold  open-air 
meetings  would  be  brief  as  fall  would  soon  turn 
into  winter.  He  had  "played"  all  the  towns  along 
the  line  of  the  New  York  Central  Railway,  and 
was  acquainted  with  the  temperament  of  the  peo 
ple.  We  decided  on  Lyons  as  Tom  thought  it  the 
most  attractive  field.  The  people  were  largely  Ger 
man  and  less  apt  to  treat  us  roughly  than  at  Pal 
myra. 

"These  crout-fed  sod-rippers  like  music,  and  if 
ya  can  git  an  old  joke  through  their  noodles,  they'll 
laugh  the  real  estate  out  from  under  their  finger 
nails  that's  been  'cumulatin'  there  fer  the  last  ten 
years,  every  time  they  tore  the  weeds  outa  the 
beets  and  barley.  They'r  bullheads,  but  they'r  great 
fellers  to  listen  to  new  ideas,  an'  figure  'bout  'em, 
an'  they'r  just  as  apt  to  be  with  ya  as 
against  ya.  Don't  ya  never  say  nothin*  'bout 
beer,  that's  a  little  ahead  of  religion  with  Dutch 
men,  an'  besides  beer  is  good  for  'em,  and  they 
know  they  git  fat  on  it,  so  stow  the  beer  talk." 

I  conceive  it  unnecessary  to  go  into  details  of  my 
experience  as  a  Mormon  missionary ;  I  will  simply 
give  the  reader  a  brief  sketch  of  the  salient  inci- 
74 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

dents  which,  I  believe,  had  a  tendency  to  shake  my 
faith  in  Mormonism. 

Tom's  plan  failed;  not  because  he  did  not  suc 
ceed  in  attracting  and  amusing  a  crowd,  but  be 
cause  they  would  not  listen  to  the  doctrine  of  Mor 
monism.  It  was  a  keen  disappointment  to  us  both, 
and  we  reluctantly  decided  to  part  company.  Tom 
left  for  Syracuse,  leaving  me  alone  again.  I  missed 
him.  He  was  one  to  whom  a  living  had  always 
come  by  hard  knocks,  yet  he  was  not  in  the  least 
soured  on  humanity,  had  a  rich  sense  of  humor  which 
carried  him  over  many  an  obstacle,  and  he  bore  no 
one  illwill.  He  had  a  kindly,  genial  good  feeling  to 
ward  all  whom  he  met,  nnd  he  will  live  long  in  my 
memory.  I  like  to  remember  an  amusing  incident 
which  happened  on  our  arrival  in  Buffalo  and  which 
typified  his  attitude  toward  the  world.  Tom  received 
a  letter  from  an  acquaintance  who  owed  him  a  couple 
dollars.  He  came  to  our  room  with  the  letter  in 
hand,  and  grinning  handed  it  to  me.  I  perused  it 
casually,  but  could  note  nothing  in  its  contents 
to  cause  merriment.  It  simply  read: 

"Please  find  enclosed  two  dollars  in  currency 
which  I  borrowed  from  you  some  time  ago.  Many 
thanks,  old  Top." 

"Yours,"  etc. 

"Well,"  I  said,  somewhat  nonplused,  "I  can't  see 
the  joke  to  this." 

"But  he  never  enclosed  the  two  plunks,"  he 
laughed,  "an*  I  wrote  back  on  a  postal  card: 

"  'Please  find  enclosed  a  receipt  for  the  said  two 
dollars  which  ya  never  sent/ 

"  'Yours,  Tom/  " 

75 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

I  set  about  my  missionary  work  according  to  my 
original  design,  following  the  usual  tactics  of  Mor 
mon  missionaries  by  going  from  house  to  house 
leaving  tracts.  Whenever  I  engaged  a  person  in 
conversation,  I  always  brought  the  subject  around 
to  religion.  But  for  the  most  part  I  met  with  a 
negative  interest.  I  made  not  a  single  convert  dur 
ing  the  two  weeks  I  plodded  doggedly  from  house 
to  house,  sometimes  in  the  village  and  sometimes  in 
the  country. 

One  morning  I  approached  a  kindly,  benevolent 
old  man  on  his  veranda,  with  my  usual  introduc 
tory  remarks.  He  asked  me  to  take  a  chair  and 
proceeded  to  draw  me  out.  I  waxed  warm  with 
my  subject,  encouraged  by  the  intelligent  interest 
shown  in  his  mild  blue  eyes.  When  I  finished,  he 
said  gently,  with  a  trace  of  German  accent: 

"My  boy,  you  are  not  a  fool,  nor  a  rogue,  nor  a 
hypocrite ;  I  surmise  that  as  a  victim  of  circum 
stance,  you  inherited  a  false  doctrine.  You  are  at 
least  of  average  intelligence,  so  could  not  have  been 
proselyted  into  a  creed  which  is  so  palpably  false, 
and  so  easily  proven  to  be  such.  Since  you  pre 
sume  to  claim  yours  to  be  the  only  true  faith,  let 
me  counsel  you  to  investigate  the  origin  of  that 
faith ;  especially  as  you  are  so  near  to  the  place 
where  it  originated.  Visit  Palmyra,  it  is  but  a  short 
distance  from  here  and  learn  how  your  prophet 
Smith  was  regarded  by  men  who  knew  him  well. 
But,  my  son,  you  must  not  allow  the  discovery  of 
the  fact  that  your  prophet  Smith  was  a  rogue  to 
shake  your  faith  in  God." 

He  rose,  and  with  a  friendly  pat  on  the  shoulder, 
wished  me  good  day  and  went  into  the  house.  I 
afterwards  learned  that  he  was  a  retired  Presby 
terian  minister.  This  was  the  third  time  I  had  been 

76 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

told  to  investigate  my  religion  by  people,  who,  I  had 
reasons  to  believe,  wished  me  well  and  who  spoke 
from  intelligent  information  on  the  subject.  I  deter 
mined  to  follow  their  advice,  and  thus  to  be  armed 
with  the  best  of  answers  in  event  of  someone  else's 
making  a  similar  suggestion.  Besides,  I  had  prom 
ised  Louise  to  do  that  very  thing. 

On  opening  the  package  Louise  had  given  me,  I 
found  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  and  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  I  had 
put  off  the  perusal  of  these  books  until  I  had  an 
opportunity  to  first  visit  Palmyra.  I  determined  to 
carry  out  this  design  immediately  and  the  following 
Sunday  visited  the  city  of  the  "Immortal  Joseph/' 

Early  Sunday  morning  I  arrived  in  Palmyra  and 
made  my  way  at  once  up  the  main  street  to  the 
hotel.  This  was  a  large  building,  surmounted  by  a 
square  cupola.  Huge  white  columns  supported  the 
double  porches,  and  wide  steps  led  up  to  the  en 
trance.  Everything  that  met  my  notice  was  of  in 
terest,  for  was  it  not  here  that  God's  own  greatest 
Prophet  had  lived? 

I  resolved  first  of  all  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to 
Smith's  old  home,  and  to  the  Hill  of  Cumorah,  on 
the  summit  of  which  God  had  revealed  Himself  to 
Joseph,  and  delivered  the  golden  plates  into  his 
hands.  I  learned  that  the  hill  was  about  three  and 
a  half  miles  south  of  the  town,  and  I  decided  to  walk 
the  distance  like  a  true  pilgrim. 

The  church  bells  were  ringing  as  I  left  the  vil 
lage,  and  I  met  numerous  conveyances  loaded  with 
country  folk  driving  to  church,  as  I  stepped  joyously 
along  the  dusty  country  road.  My  heart  was  light 
and  my  head  was  full  of  plans  for  the  future.  I  felt 
that  I  was  approaching  sacred  ground,  and  that  now 
if  ever  I  would  be  visited  with  a  revelation  on  this 
77 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

holy  spot.  With  this  thought,  I  quickened  my  steps 
and  presently  came  upon  a  farm  house,  set  back 
from  the  road.  A  boy  was  riding  an  old  horse  down 
a  lane  by  the  road  to  a  watering  trough,  and  I  ac 
costed  him. 

"£an  you  tell  me  how  far  it  is  to  Mormon  Hill?" 
I  asked,  knowing  that  it  was  termed  thus  by  the  Gen 
tiles. 

"Sure,  jest  yonder,"  with  a  jerk  of  his  thumb  to 
ward  the  rear  of  the  house. 

I  was  not  a  little  disappointed  in  its  size.  Accus 
tomed  to  the  mountains  of  the  west,  I  had  been  an 
ticipating  an  elevation  far  above  that  of  its  fellows. 
Still  it  was  larger  than  its  neighbors  and  seemed  to  be 
set  apart  from  them.  It  extends  north  and  south  and 
is  much  longer  than  it  is  wide.  From  every  side  it 
slopes  up  to  the  summit  giving  it  the  appearance  of 
a  huge  cone. 

Before  ascending  the  hill,  I  knelt  beneath  a  large 
tree  at  the  base  and  prayed  that  a  revelation  from 
heaven  might  come  to  me  on  this  holy  hill,  that 
would  prove  beyond  doubt  or  question  that  mine 
was  the  true  faith  and  that  this  was  the  place  of  its 
inception. 

I  arose  from  my  knees,  strengthened  and  encour 
aged,  imbued  with  the  faith  that  God,  through  some 
means  natural  or  divine,  would  give  me  some  un 
mistakable  sign  or  proof  of  what  I  sought.  It  was 
with  a  high  pulse  and  a  sense  of  tingling  expectancy, 
that  I  reached  the  summit.  What  was  my  disappoint 
ment  to  find  nothing  particularly  striking  but  an  old 
man  "salting"  a  small  flock  of  sheep.  I  was  discon 
certed  for  the  moment,  but  he  did  not  notice  me  un 
til  I  had  regained  my  composure. 

"Fine  day,"  he  said,  when  he  observed  me. 

Instantly  I  resolved  to  conceal  the  fact  that  I  was 

78 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

a  Mormon  until  I  had  sounded  him  as  to  his  memory 
of  Joseph  Smith,  if  by  chance  his  memory  served 
him  that  far. 

I  agreed  with  his  opinion  of  the  weather  and  re 
marked  that  I  believed  the  hill  we  stood  upon,  was 
of  some  historical  interest. 

He  grunted,  pushed  his  hat  back  on  his  head  and 
regarded  me  thoughtfully  out  of  a  pair  of  kindly  but 
quizzical  grey  eyes.  "History  'nough  fer  some  poor 
devils.  Stranger  in  these  parts,  I  reckon?" 

"Yes,  I  am  stopping  in  town  for  a  few  days,  and 
was  told  that  this  hill  was  one  of  the  spots  of  interest. 
Some  sort  of  a  book  was  dug  up  here  was  it  not  ?" 

"Huh,  that's  what  Joe  Smith  said,  but  no  one  out 
side  o'  him  and  a  few  cronies  saw  it.  See  that  little 
rise  o'  ground  ?"  pointing  toward  the  north  where  the 
summit  was  slightly  elevated.  "Notice  that  bare  spot 
'round  the  hole  in  the  ground?  That's  where  they 
claims  the  golden  plates  was  dug  up.  Mormons  sez 
that  no  grass  won't  never  grow  there,  and  none  does. 
But  the  reason's  plain  'nough.  Them  ere  sheep  keeps 
that  hole  there.  Summer  time  flies  pester  'em  most 
to  death.  Then  they  gits  in  that  hole  an'  paws  the 
dirt  to  keep  the  flies  away.  I  let  the  cattle  up  here 
too  and  what  the  sheep  don't  do,  they  does.  But 
law!  the  way  them  Mormons  come  here  and  kneels 
down  and  prays  in  the  dirt,  is  'nough  to  split  yer 
sides !"  He  threw  his  head  back  and  indulged  in  a  fit 
of  silent  laughter ;  puckering  his  mouth  up  in  a  funny 
little  bow  and  ending  his  mirth  with  a  smack  of  his 
lips.  ...:_• 

"Don't  you  think  they  are  sincere?"  I  asked,  se 
cretly  nettled  by  his  light  remarks,  but  determined  to 
carry  out  my  purpose. 

"Sincere  ?  •  Well,  I  reckon  the  wimmen  is,  or  they 
wouldn't  put  up  with  what  they  does.  But  the  men 
79 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

what  started  it !  Law  save  us !  Joe  Smith  knew 
what  he  was  about,  even  if  he  didn't  have  no  sense." 

"Did  you  know  the  Prophet?" 

"Know  him !  I  reckon  I  did,  an'  I  never  knowed 
nothin'  good  o'  him  neither.  Lived  jest  over  yonder, 
a  couple  of  miles  from  here,"  jerking  his  thumb 
over  his  shoulder.  "Everybody  round  here  knowed 
him  all  right.  Family  wa'nt  nothin'.  Jest  a  low  down 
thievin'  lyin'  lot,  an'  Joe  was  tha  worst  o'  the  bunch. 
Nobody  thought  he  had  any  brains,  but  the  Devil 
must  a  gi'en  him  somethin'  that  answered.  Wa'nt 
nobody  that  could  beat  him  a-lyin'  an'  tellin'  stories. 
He  used  to  have  a  'peep  stun*  in  his  hat,  an'  he'd  look 
at  the  stun,  and  pretend  to  tell  where  anything  was. 
He  dug  it  up  over  in  Chase's  place,  when  he  was  dig- 
gin'  a  well.  I  can  see  him  now,  goin'  round  in  his 
ragged,  dirty  clothes,  with  only  one  galesis,  an'  hair 
stickin'  straight  up  through  a  hole  in  his  hat.  He 
had  the  gift  o'  gab  allright.  He'd  set  down  in  the 
store  an*  tell  yarn  o'  visions  an'  visitations  so  slick 
an*  smooth  that  you'd  most  believe  'em  yerself. 

"After  awhile  he  did  git  some  shiftless  truck  to 
believin'  in  him.  Nights  they'd  go  round  diggin'  fer 
a  chest  o'  gold.  Joe  said  he  could  see  with  his  stun, 
— an'  then  they'd  dig  keepin'  mum  as  clams.  Joe  al 
ways  said  if  anyone  spoke  a  word,  the  spell  would 
be  broke,  an'  the  gold  would  go  off  to  some  other 
place.  Sometimes  they'd  dig  a  couple  o'  hours  then 
someone  would  swear  or  somethin'  an'  it  would  be 
all  up. 

"Ever  hear  'bout  the  black-sheep  sacrifice?  Wall, 
that  was  a  pretty  cute  way  o'  gittin'  a  sheep.  Joe 
told  his  crowd  that  he  had  located  the  chest,  but  be 
fore  they  could  dig  it,  a  fat  black  sheep  must  be  sac 
rificed,  an'  the  blood  spilt  on  the  ground.  Wall,  the 
bunch  gathered  round  with  picks,  an*  Joe  cut  the 
80 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

sheep's  throat  an'  made  the  critter  walk  round,  mak- 
in'  a  circle  with  its  blood.  Then  after  a  lot  o'  mutter- 
in'  Smith  told  em  to  dig  inside  the  circle.  They  dug 
an'  dug,  but  here  wuz  the  cute  part  o'  it :  somebody 
swore  an'  the  gold  vanished,  an'  so  had  Joe's  father 
with  the  sheep."  The  old  man  again  indulged  in  a 
fit  of  silent  laughter. 

"But  the  plates,"  I  said,  "don't  you  believe  that  he 
really  saw  a  vision,  and  received  the  Holy  Book  di 
rectly  from  the  hand  of  God?" 

He  sobered  at  once,  looked  at  me  keenly  and 
stroked  his  chin. 

''Law  save  us,  boy,  you  talk  as  though  you  might 
be  a  Mormon  yourself, — but  no,  you  look  too  likely 
a  lad  for  any  such  fool  bizness.  Nobody  around  here 
never  believed  that  Joe  found  nothin'  but  an  easy 
way  to  make  a  livin'.  He  was  always  sky-larkin' 
around  nights,  an'  one  night,  he  comes  up  here  with 
a  pick  an'  a  napkin.  When  he  got  home  he  had 
somethin'  bundled  up  in  the  napkin,  an'  he  told  how 
it  was  a  book  with  gold  leaves.  Nobody  could  see  it 
because  the  Lord  told  him  that  if  anybody  else  looked 
at  it,  they  would  be  struck  dead.  He  used  to  let  the 
boys  feel  o'  it  though,  all  covered  up  with  a  canvas. 
Three  of  the  fellers  wuz  feelin'  o'  it  one  night,  an' 
coaxin'  Joe  for  a  peak  at  it,  but  he  wouldn't.  One 
o'  em  said  he  didn't  care  a  darnation,  and  snatched 
the  cover  off.  All  'twas  wuz  a  big  brick;  but  Joe 
sneaked  out  of  it.  Said  it  wasn't  the  book  at  all, 
that  the  Lord  knowed  what  they  wuz  goin'  to  do,  an' 
changed  the  book  to  a  brick;  it  wuz  jest  a  joke  on 
em." 

"After  a  spell  a  stranger  come  to  town  an'  talked 

with  Joe,  an'  after  that,  they  said  it  wuz  the  work  o' 

God,  writ  in  some  furrin  language.    They  they  took 

to  writin'  it  in  English,  an'  they  had  it  printed  at  the 

81 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

Wayne  County  Sentinel  office.  John  Gilbert  wuz  the 
chief  printer,  an'  he  fixed  the  mistakes  fer  'em,  an' 
put  it  through  fer  'em.  They  dug  a  cave  in  the  side 
o'  this  hill  where  they  pretended  to  be  a  writiti'  it, 
but  no  one  ever  got  in  there  but  Smith  and  Cowdry 
an'  Harris.  They  claim  to  have  saw  the  book,  but 
they  wuz  all  noted  liars.  After  that  they  got  a  few 
converts,  poor  ignerant  cusses  that  wuz  superstitious 
an'  they  cleared  out  after  awhile.  Law !  there's 
Sarah  callin'  dinner.  Won't  you  come  down  an'  have 
a  bite?"  And  he  rose  stiffly  and  picked  up  the  salt 
measure. 

"No,  thank  you,"  I  replied.  "I  have  to  be  going* 
on.  Do  Mormon  missionaries  ever  come  here  for 
converts  ?" 

"Well,  now,  sometimes  they  do,  but  the  same  one 
never  comes  twict,"  and  he  shuffled  off  down  the 
hill,  while  his  shoulders  shook  with  his  characteristi 
cally  silent  mirth. 

He  left  me  with  a  mingled  feeling  of  resentment 
and  discomfort.  I  tried  to  persuade  myself  that  he 
was  an  ignorant,  blasphemous  old  imbecile,  the  kind 
that  always  deny  everything  that  has  not  been  ac 
complished  by  themselves.  But  the  offhand,  cheer 
ful  unassuming  straightforwardness  with  which  he 
spoke  of  the  Prophet,  convinced  my  judgment  but 
did  not  overpower  my  will.  Long  years  of  absolute 
faith  could  not  be  uprooted  by  a  few  minutes'  conver 
sation  with  a  strange  old  man  in  the  tertiary  stage  of 
senile  decay.  I  could  not  for  the  minute  grasp  the 
full  significance  that  the  story  of  this  old  iconoclast 
bore  on  the  honor  of  our  Prophet  and  the  validity 
of  his  revelations,  which  were  the  very  foundation  of 
our  religion.  I  watched  him  ambling  rheumatically 
down  the  hill,  whistling  an  old-fashioned  country 
dance,  and  continued  to  watch  the  door  behind  which 
82 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

he  had  disappeared  long  after  it  had  been  closed. 
I  was  dazed  and  confused,  and  finally  returned  to 
my  room  in  the  hotel  to  spend  the  remain 
der  of  the  day  and  night  arguing  with  my 
self,  lying  face  downward  on  the  bed.  My  pride 
urged  me  to  disregard  the  old  man's  story  as  a  false 
tale  of  a  bigoted  enemy  of  the  church;  my  judg 
ment  and  intuition  told  me  it  was  true.  The  next 
morning  I  visited  the  newspaper  office  the  old  man 
had  mentioned  only  to  have  his  every  statement 
verified  in  answer  to  my  cautious  inquiry.  I  spent  a 
few  hours  wandering  about  town,  and  the  people 
I  approached  on  the  subject  of  Mormonism  were  of 
the  same  mind.  There  seemed  to  be  no  animosity 
against  Mormonism,  just  an  amused  contempt  for 
anyone  who  might  be  simple  enough  to  have  faith  in 
the  so-called  visions  and  revelations  of  Joe  Smith. 
He  had  been  regarded  as  the  village  roustabout,  a 
shiftless  good-for-nothing. 

It  is  difficult  to  put  in  words  the  sensations  that 
the  growing  belief  in  the  falsity  of  Smith's  claim  to 
divine  authority,  aroused  in  my  mind.  I  rebelled 
against  my  judgment,  which  accepted  what  the  gen 
tiles  told  me  as  true.  The  rebellion  was  generously 
fortified  by  the  inate  and  ingrained  belief  in  the  doc 
trine  that  had  been  made  a  part  of  my  mentality,  and 
was  fostered  by  pride  in  the  intelligence  and  whole- 
someness  of  my  people.  To  me  religion  was  the 
paramount  and  all-controlling  motive  for  every  act. 
The  upbuilding  of  the  "Kingdom"  was  the  reason 
for  my  very  existence.  Now  that  the  foundation  of 
the  "Kingdom"  seemed  to  be  laid  in  worse  than 
sand;  to  be,  in  fact,  the  dishonest  vagaries  of  the 
mind  of  a  man  whom  it  would  be  charitable  to  call  a 
crackbrained  fanatic,  can  it  be  wondered  that  I  was 
in  a  state  of  mental  chaos? 

83 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

Mine  is  a  nature  that  will  not  be  silenced  by  half 
the  truth,  that  will  be  content  to  overlook  facts  by 
waving  them  aside  with  high-handed  indifference 
backed  only  by  fine  spun  theories  as  to  what  may 
or  may  not  be.  I  could  not  do  as  thousands  of  Mor 
mons  have :  pass  off  the  truth  by  reasoning  that  "our 
religions  is  as  good  as  any  other;  that  there  is  a 
doubt  as  to  the  authenticity  of  all  religions." 

It  was  in  this  frame  of  mind  that  I  returned  to 
Lyons  to  find  a  letter  awaiting  me  from  Louise.  I 
hastened  to  my  room  and  perused  it  with  as  much 
astonishment  as  avidity.  It  ran  thus: 

"DEAR  JOSEPH  : 

"You  once  rescued  me  from  a  band  of  outlaws; 
no  human  being  was  ever  stirred  by  greater  grati 
tude  than  was  I.  You  have  been  kind  to  me,  have 
respected  me,  and  I  believed  you  that  night  when 
you  told  me  that  you  loved  me.  For  these  reasons 
I  am  calling  on  you  to  make  a  great  sacrifice  for  me 
in  the  hour  of  my  dire  distress  and  danger.  I  am 
imprisoned  in  a  miner's  hut  by  your  father  who  is 
attempting  to  force  me  to  marry  him.  Moab  is  my 
jailer  and  has  consented  to  send  this  letter  to  you 
after  assuring  me  that  you  would  simply  tell  me  to 
abide  by  your  father's  will.  If  you  love  me,  Joe, 
if  you  have  the  manhood,  the  courage  and  the  spirit 
I  believe  you  have,  save  me  from  this  loathsome  cap 
tivity  and  the  probable  fate  that  your  wretched  father 
has  planned  for  me.  Act  quickly  for  the  love  you 
say  you  have  for  me. 

"In  an  agony  of  distress  and  suspense,  I  am,  as 
ever,  "LOUISE." 

All  my  enthusiasm  in  my  work  for  the  "Kingdom" 
at  once  vanished.    I  cared  not  a  jot  for  religion,  God, 
84 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

man,  or  the  devil,  dogmas  or  creeds.  When  the  hu 
man  mind  centers  upon  one  subject  and  none  other, 
and  cannot  be  changed,  the  unfortunate  is  insane.  My 
one  thought  was  to  rescue  Louise  and  kill  that  smug 
old  villain,  Henry  Lorenzo,  if  necessary.  What  cared 
I  for  any  theory  regarding  a  hereafter !  What  cared 
I  for  any  punishment  of  God  or  man !  My  one  and 
all-consuming  object  was  to  protect  Louise,  and  kill 
anyone  who  violently  opposed  me!  That  I  had  but 
two  dollars  and  a  few  cents  bothered  me  not  a  bit, 
at  first,  although  my  ticket  carried  me  only  as  far 
as  Chicago.  Later  when  I  had  spent  my  last  dollar 
and  was  riding  on  top  of  a  freight  train  in  the  cool, 
fall  night  air,  with  only  ten  cents'  worth  of  crackers 
and  cheese  under  my  belt  for  forty-eiglit  hours,  I 
cursed  money,  man  and  humanity  in  general,  not  be 
cause  I  was  half  starved  and  chilled  to  the  bone,  but 
because  I  could  not  span  the  distance  with  celerity 
money  would  buy  me. 

Those  were  the  good  old  days  before  the  trouble 
some  reformer  had  put  laws  on  the  statute  books 
making  it  necessary  for  the  train  to  stop  before  a 
trespasser  could  be  removed.  Halcyon  days  for  the 
brakemen.  I  had  several  encounters  with  the  wield- 
ers  of  the  hickory  stick.  I  choked  one  to  insensibil 
ity  in  his  own  caboose,  overawed  two  or  three,  and 
knocked  submissiveness  into  the  heads  of  several; 
always  helping-  myself  to  the  contents  of  their  re 
spective  dinner  pails. 

In  Denver  I  purchased  two  horses  on  Henry's 
credit,  cursing  him  mentally  when  I  was  forced  to 
use  his  name,  and  commenced  my  journey  over  the 
ominous  Rockies  with  scarcely  any  rest.  Driven  on 
by  feverish  anxiety  I  rode  both  mounts  to  exhaus 
tion  before  stopping  for  sleep,  then  rested  three  hours 
and  was  off  again.  I  kept  up  this  pace  for  two  days 
85 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

and  three  nights  with  scarcely  any  sleep.  The  ner 
vous  tension  began  to  tell  on  me  though  I  had  be 
lieved  there  was  no  limit  to  my  endurance.  The  third 
evening  I  became  feverish;  on  the  fourth  I  was  in 
a  stage  of  semi-delirium.  After  that  I  lost  all  ac 
count  of  nights  and  days,  but  kept  doggedly  going 
forward  with  all  the  speed  that  could  be  wrung  from 
my  fast  flagging  ponies.  I  spurred  them  with  Indian 
brutality,  I,  who  loved  a  horse  with  almost  senti 
mental  devotion.  Twice  during  a  period  when  I  was 
in  a  state  of  feverish  stupor,  my  mount  wandered 
from  the  trail.  I  missed  a  water  hole  where  I  calcu 
lated  to  fill  my  canteen  and  water  the  horses.  Then 
I  rode  for  God  only  knows  how  long  without  water, 
my  fever  mounting  highei  and  higher.  I  must  have 
fallen  into  a  stupor  again  and  returned  to  conscious 
ness  to  find  myself  lying  near  one  of  my  horses.  I 
struggled  dizzily  to  my  feet  and  kicked  it.  It  was 
dead.  I  gazed  about  with  partially  unseeing  eyes, 
endeavoring  to  find  the  other  pony.  It  was  nowhere 
in  sight.  I  noticed  one,  two,  three  buzzards  circling 
near.  I  shook  my  fist  at  them  and  cursed  them. 

I  staggered  forward  on  foot.  A  fatalistic  certainty 
of  arriving  at  my  destination  was  the  only  thing  that 
could  have  impelled  me  onward  in  such  a  condition. 
My  tongue  was  dry,  swollen  and  blistered,  my  limbs 
trembling,  my  head  dizzy,  and  my  vision  distorted. 
A  rattler,  ruthlessly  disturbed,  struck  my  boot,  but  his 
fangs  were  not  long  enough  to  harm  me.  I  laughed 
and  plunged  on.  I  threw  away  one  six-shooter  and 
all  of  the  food  I  dared.  Again  I  lost  consciousness. 

It  must  have  been  hours  later  when  I  wakened  to 
find  myself  picked  by  an  emigrant  caravan.  They 
were  rough  but  kindly  people.  I  was  permitted  to 
ride  in  one  of  the  prairie  schooners,  lying  stretched 
out  on  a  pile  of  bedding.  The  fever  subsided,  and 
86 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

the  rest,  water  and  care  revived  me.  Before  we 
reached  Salt  Lake  City  I  could  walk  without  much 
difficulty. 

I  must  have  appeared  much  like  an  emaciated 
phantom  to  my  astonished  mother,  whom  I  found 
alone  in  her  apartment.  Before  she  had  an  oppor 
tunity  to  speak,  I  demanded  to  know  what  had  be 
come  of  Louise,  holding  her  at  arms'  length.  Divin 
ing  the  cause  of  my  return  and  desiring  to  comfort 
me,  mother  unwittingly  chose  the  most  revolting 
method  of  imparting  the  shocking  news  of  Louise. 
She  said:  "That  Gentile  girl  proved  too  obstinate 
and  bitter  an  opponent  of  God's  will.  She  ridiculed 
our  prophets,  laughed  at  the  Holy  Revelation,  and 
openly  defied  the  revealed  Word  of  God." 

"Where  is  she?"  I  again  demanded  fiercely. 

"She  died  the  death  of  the  unfit  and  unyielding. 
She  was  frozen  to  death  in  the  mountains  in  a  fool 
ish  and  headstrong  attempt  to  thwart  God's  will." 

"Dead  !  Frozen  to  death !  God  have  mercy  on  the 
hypocrites  and  false  prophets  that  killed  her,  I  will 
not !"  and  with  that  I  turned  from  my  mother  who 
called  to  me  pleadingly: 

"Joe,  Joe!  Sonny  boy,  don't  leave  your  mother 
so!" 

I  strode  to  the  barn,  mounted  the  best  horse  in 
the  stable  and  rode  to  Edward's  home.  I 
could  not  believe  that  Louise  was  dead.  I  would 
not  believe  it.  It  must  be  that  mother  had  been 
told  this  to  keep  the  facts  from  her,  I  reasoned. 
With  rage,  sorrow,  doubt  and  anxiety  growing  with 
in  me,  I  rode  with  a  reckless  headlong  speed  past  fa 
miliar  objects,  scarcely  noticing  them.  As  I  dashed 
round  the  bend  in  the  canyon  that  disclosed  my  sis 
ter's  home,  I  noticed  Edward  watering  the  horses  at 
the  rivulet.  As  soon  as  I  came  within  hailing  distance 

87 


IN    THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

I  demanded  to  know  the  whereabouts  of  Louise.  He 
answered  me  with  reluctance  much  as  mother  di-.l 
save  that  he  condemned  what  she  had  extolled.  Then 
it  was  true  that  my  beautiful,  sweet,  pure  and  noUe 
sweetheart  had  been  hunted  like  a  wild  animal, 
driven  into  the  inclement  mountains  to  escape  a  brute 
lower  than  cold-blooded  animal  creation. 

"D—  Henry  Lorenzo!"  I  cried.  "D—  the  false, 
hypocritical  coward !  The  lust-besotted  whelp  of 
Hell !  I,  the  fruit  of  his  own  loins  will  kill  him  with 
my  own  hands !  Do  you  hear,  d —  you  ?  I'll  choke 
his  heart's  blood  from  his  loathsome  carcass !" 

I  raved  on  at  Edward,  saying  I  knew  not  what,  un 
til  rage  was  supplanted  by  grief  and  I  fell  on  the 
ground  face  downward  and  sobbed  like  a  baby.  I 
have  never  shed  a  tear  since,  but  I  am  not  ashamed 
of  having  done  so  then.  Edward  said  nothing  for 
several  minutes.  Finally  he  began  to  talk  to  me 
gently,  saying  he  felt  much  as  I  did,  that  he  was 
going  to  leave  the  land  of  lust-ridden  hypocrites  and 
deluded  fools. 


88 


CHAPTER  III. 

FOR  several  days  I  rode  and  walked  about  the 
mountains,  and  up  and  down  the  canyon,  growing 
more  embittered  and  dangerous  each  hour.  At  first 
I  decided  to  kill  Henry  on  sight,  but  on  more  ma 
ture  thought  I  conceived  that  it  would  be  a  greater 
punishment  to  humiliate,  humble  and  disgrace  him 
in  his  sphere  of  power.  No  one  knew  better  than  I 
that  among  the  Mormon  people  there  existed  many 
hearts  as  true,  honorable  and  loyal  as  ever  pulsated, 
misguided  and  grounded  thoroughly  in  the  heresy  of 
the  monomaniac  Smith,  but  Anglo-Saxon  both  in 
blood  and  instinct  when  their  vision  was  not  obscured 
by  religious  fanaticism.  How  to  drive  home  to  these 
true-hearted  ones  the  errors  of  thought  and  deed 
which  had  been  handed  to  them  in  childhood  by  their 
fathers,  together  with  avenging  the  death  of  my 
sweetheart,  became  my  one  reason  and  purpose  for 
living. 

I  left  the  canyon  for  Salt  Lake  City,  rested  and  in 
vigorated.  Mother  was  anxiously  awaiting  my  re 
turn,  and  was  greatly  relieved  to  find  me  in  a  collect 
ed  and  apparently  normal  state  of  mind.  I  talked 
with  her  for  a  few  hours  and  learned  the  news  of 
the  neighborhod.  Henry  had  gone  to  the  southern 
part  of  Utah  on  a  business  trip.  Moab  had  disap 
peared  and  had  not  been  heard  of  for  several  weeks. 
It  was  thought  he  had  gone  on  a  mission.  Henry 
had  added  four  young  and  beautiful  wives  to  add 

89 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF    BR1GHAM    YOUNG 

luster  to  his  crown  in  the  world  to  come.  Several 
half-brothers  and  sisters  had  been  born  into  the  fam 
ily  during  my  absence.  I  spent  the  next  few  weeks 
visiting  among  the  most  intellectual  of  my  friends, 
sounding  them  as  to  their  attitude  toward  the  rulers 
of  the  church.  I  found  them  in  sympathy  with  the 
leader  as  a  whole,  but  a  strong  sentiment  against 
plural  marriage  seemed  to  exist.  This  was  espe 
cially  true  among  the  younger  men,  some  of  whom 
had  been  robbed  of  their  sweethearts  by  the  older 
"saints"  and  others  had  been  threatened.  Then,  too, 
the  Federal  Government  was  taking  a  strong  interest 
in  the  polygamy  question.  I  carefully  noted  every 
instance  of  dissatisfaction  and  made  a  written  de 
tailed  account  of  every  outrage  which  I  gave  to  the 
officers  of  the  U.  S.  Army  who  commanded  the  Army 
Post  near  the  city,  to  mail  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  I  was  in  a  position  to  learn  and  did 
learn  more  than  any  secret-service  man  could. 

I  visited  the  President  of  the  Church  with  a  letter 
of  recommendation  from  two  Bishops  who  were 
friends  of  Henry's  and  asked  for  a  position  of  a  cler 
ical  nature.  If  he  knew  the  story  of  my  mission  he 
did  not  mention  it.  He  sounded  me  casually  on  my 
attitude  toward  the  ruling  element  then  in  power  and 
finding  me  apparently  all  zeal  and  very  heartily  in 
favor  of  the  existing  regime,  he  inquired  if  I  was 
married,  and  learning  that  I  was  not  even  sealed,  he 
slapped  me  on  the  back  saying: 

"I  am  giving  a  little  reception  this  evening  in 
'Amelia  Palace/  Be  on  hand  and  we  will  talk  the 
matter  over.  Perhaps  we  can  secure  you  not  only  a 
position,  but  a  wife  or  two."  Plainly,  I  had  made 
a  favorable  impression. 

Later  I  learned  that  Henry  had  left  instructions 
to  the  effect  that  I  must  be  watched  on  my  return 
90 


IN    THE   DAYS   OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

and  placated  by  taking  me  into  state  secrets  and  by 
giving  me  a  good  position  and  the  pick  of  several 
attractive  women,  or  if  I  proved  refractory  to  be 
immediately  put  out  of  existence  as  a  danger  to  the 
church. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1  WAS  on  hand  at  the  "Amelia  Palace"  that  night 
promptly  at  the  appointed  hour.  It  was  a  very  select 
gathering  composed  of  the  gayer  members  of  the 
ruling  element,  who,  though  much  given  to  ostenta 
tious  public  worship,  were  none  the  less  devoted  to 
gayety  in  private  life. 

The  women  present  were  conspicuous  for  their 
beauty  and  attractiveness.  Practically  all  of  them 
were  unmarried  and  it  developed  that  the  gather 
ing  was  for  the  ultimate  purpose  of  marrying  or 
sealing  these  young  girls  to  some  of  the  men  pres 
ent.  It  was  a  formal  introduction  to  the  society  of 
one  another  which  was  to  lead  to  a  sealing  for  all 
eternity. 

I  concealed  my  lack  of  interest  in  the  affair  as  best 
I  could  and  my  absent-mindedness  or  apparent  awk 
wardness  was  no  doubt  charged  up  to  my  inexperi 
ence.  Not  that  etiquette  was  observed  to  any  extent 
as  there  were  none  present  who  had  more  than  a 
rough  idea  of  the  proper  manner  of  conducting 
themselves  measured  by  the  standard  of  Gentile  so 
ciety. 

The  evening  was  spent  at  cards,  conversation,  danc 
ing  and  music.  At  midnight  a  sumptuous  feast  was 
served.  I  was  seated  at  the  table  next  to  a  daughter 
of  a  wealthy  merchant.  She  was  a  jolly,  intelligent 
young  person,  but  I  was  too  preoccupied  with  my 
plans  for  the  future  and  too  intent  upon  getting  all 
92 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

the  information  that  might  drop  unwittingly  from  the 
lips  of  the  important  persons  present  to  give  more 
heed  to  her  than  was  necessary  to  keep  up  appear 
ances.  Before  the  gathering  broke  up,  the  President 
of  the  Church  called  me  aside  and  informed  me  that 
he  had  a  place  for  me  and  invited  me  to  call  in  the 
morning. 

I  realized  fully  that  the  plan  I  had  roughly  formu 
lated  in  mind,  by  which  I  was  to  wreck  vengeance 
on  Henry  Lorenzo  and  to  attempt  to  undeceive  the 
Mormon  people  concerning  the  heresy  of  Joseph 
Smith,  entailed  dangers  many  and  dire.  But  my 
mind  was  fortified  by  a  deep-seated,  slow-burning 
rage  at  the  perfidy  of  the  Mormon  oligarchy  in  gen 
eral,  and  Henry  Lorenzo  in  particular. 

I  walked  home  brooding  over  these  matters  with  a 
feeling  of  grim  satisfaction,  as  I  felt  that  I  had 
obtained  a  wedge  that  would  open  the  way  for  the 
consummation  of  the  work  I  had  laid  out  to  do,  let 
the  consequences  to  myself  be  what  they  might. 

The  next  morning  I  found  the  President  in  ses 
sion  with  several  leaders  of  the  Church.  I  was 
greeted  cordially  by  each  of  them  and  after  a  few 
preliminary  remarks  and  aimless  glances  about,  the 
President  stroked  his  beard,  shuffled  his  feet, 
bent  his  piercing  eyes  upon  me  and  said : 

"The  nature  of  the  work  we  are  about  to  com 
mission  you  to  do  for  us  and  the  glory  of  Zion  is 
such  that  it  will  require  the  utmost  loyalty  and 
secrecy.  We  have  selected  you  as  a  young  man 
of  energy,  vigor,  vision  and  loyalty.  It  has  been 
revealed  to  us  that  it  is  necessary  and  proper  for 
us  to  assume  the  attitude  toward  you  which  we 
will  follow.  Therefore  I  ask  you  to  remember  at 
all  times  that  such  attitude  is  not  the  desire  nor  the 
93 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

determination  of  us  poor  instruments  of  God,  but 
the  will  of  God  Himself.  That  you  may  understand 
the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  work  you  are 
about  to  embark  upon,  we  conceive  it  necessary 
that  you  be  taken  into  the  innermost  shrine  of  the 
Temple,  there  to  expiate  your  sins,  if  you  have  any, 
and  learn  many  things  you  wot  not  of.  Under 
stand  that  you  may  now  withdraw  from  this  en 
terprise  and  we  will  find  a  place  for  you  elsewhere, 
but  understand  also  that  the  oath  once  taken  and 
our  plans  unfolded,  your  hand  will  then  be  'put  to 
the  plow/  and  there  must  be  no  faltering,  nor  turn 
ing  back.  Speak  up  and  tell  us  if  you  are  still  all 
zeal,  or  that  the  gravity  of  the  proposal  has  damp 
ened  your  enthusiasm." 

I  did  not  hesitate.  "I  am  with  you  to  see  the 
finish." 

"Good !"  said  the  President.  "If,"  turning  to  the 
others,  "all  are  agreed,  we  will  now  take  our  young 
brother  through  the  inner  mysteries  of  the  Sacred 
Covenant."  A  suggestion  that  it  would  be  best  to 
wait  until  evening,  met  with  approval. 

It  was  with  no  peaceful  state  of  mind  that  I  left 
the  conference.  I  fully  realized  that  I  was  taking  a 
step  which,  had  I  been  acting  in  good  faith,  would 
have  meant  an  opportunity  for  great  preferment, 
wealth  and  honor  as  the  Mormons  see  it ;  but 
which  meant,  in  the  event  of  my  being:  unsuccess 
ful  and  my  purpose  being  discovered,  immediate 
death.  It  was  not  fear  of  death  that  bothered  me, 
however.  I  can  say  without  boasting  that  I  did 
not  hold  my  life  dearly  then.  I  had  no  possibility 
of  happiness  or  of  peace  of  mind  in  sight.  It  was 
the  knowledge  that  I  was  to  be  bound  by  oaths  that 
might  circumscribe  my  plans  that  troubled  me. 
94 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

Had  I  but  known  it,  there  was  little  cause  to  fear 
anything  but  my  own  conceit  and  susceptibility  to 
flattery. 

Instinct  led  me  home  to  tell  my  mother  enough 
of  what  success  and  preferment  I  was  meeting  to 
please  her,  and  it  afforded  me  the  most  pleasant 
moment  I  had  known  since  my  return  to  see  her 
careworn  face  brighten  and  beam  with  pride  and 
happiness.  I  longed  to  tell  her  all,  to  unburden 
my  heart,  but  prudence  told  me  that  to  do  so  would 
bring  terror  and  distress  upon  her.  It  is  now  a 
source  of  great  happiness  to  me  to  know  that  this 
last  day  was  one  of  peace  and  rejoicing  on  her 
part. 

When  I  kissed  her  forehead  that  evening  as  I 
left  her,  I  little  dreamed  that  it  was  for  the  last 
time.  Yet  it  was  with  a  sense  of  foreboding  that 
I  rode  into  the  city.  It  was  a  soft,  moonlit  spring 
night  and  the  air  was  rich  with  the  odor  of  growing 
things.  That  man-made  garden-spot  of  the  world, 
the  Salt  Lake  Valley,  was  enveloped  in  the  quietude 
of  peace  well  earned  by  the  day's  labor. 

The  evenings,  during  the  farmers'  busy  seson, 
were  very  quiet  at  Salt  Lake  in  those  days,  and  I 
found  the  streets  deserted  save  for  here  and  there 
a  person  going  quietly  home  from  some  distant 
point.  I  arrived  in  town  before  the  appointed  hour 
and  hitched  my  horse  in  front  of  the  "Bee  Hive 
Bakery",  intending  to  pass  away  a  few  moments 
there.  It  was  my  favorite  place  of  spending  odd 
moments  of  idleness  while  in  town. 

I  chatted  a  few  moments  with  the  baker's  jolly 

daughter  and  returned  to  my  horse  to  renew  my 

journey.     As  I  placed  my  hand  upon  the  pommel 

of  my  saddle,  I  felt  a  piece  of  paper  and  found  it 

95 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

tied  there  with  a  string.  I  stepped  to  the  light  of 
the  bakery  window,  unfolded  the  paper  and  read 
thereon:  "Beware,"  in  a  scrawling  feminine  hand. 
Below  it  was  signed:  "A  Friend."  The  mysterious- 
ness  of  the  delivery  of  the  message  and  its  contents 
r^ave  me  a  momentary  chill,  but  momentary  only. 
I  had  suffered  too  keenly  and  my  blood  was  too 
hot  to  be  appreciably  cooled  in  this  manner.  Clear 
ly  there  was  danger  abroad,  but  I  could  not  begin 
to  imagine  from  whom  I  was  to  beware  nor  from 
what.  I  chuckled  grimly  to  myself  and  felt  to  see 
if  my  revolver  was  in  my  saddle-bag,  and  on  find 
ing  it  and  satisfying  myself  that  it  was  loaded,  I 
transferred  it  to  my  pocket.  I  rode  to  the  "Bee 
Hive  House,"  where  I  again  secured  my  horse, 
and  from  there  walked  to  the  temple  gate.  I  was 
joined  there  by  the  youngest  of  the  "apostles."  I 
thought  I  noticed  an  air  of  restraint  in  his  man 
ner,  but  attributed  it  to  the  unusual  circumstances. 

The  Mormon  Temple  was  then  and  is  now  sur 
rounded  by  a  high  wall  with  a  spiked  railing  on  the 
top.  Within  the  enclosure  there  was  then  only 
the  Temfple  Building  and  a  small  outbuilding  where 
candidates  for  admission  to  the  Temple  were  taken 
to  be  prepared.  The  account  which  follows  no 
doubt  smacks  of  the  imagination  of  a  dime-novel 
writer.  It  is  none  the  less  consistent  with  the  facts 
as  I  remember  them. 

We  hastened  to  the  last  mentioned  edifice  and 
on  our  approaching  the  door,  it  opened  noiselessly 
on  a  very  small,  dimly-lighted  ante-room.  An  old 
man  stepped  from  behind  the  entrance  door  and 
shuffled  across  the  room  to  a  door  opposite,  which 
opened  to  his  touch.  He  beckoned  me  to  enter, 
instructing  me  to  remove  all  my  clothing  and  to 

96 


IN    THE    DAYS   OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

don  the  vestment  I  would  find  there,  then  rap  on 
the  floor.  I  found  myself  in  a  very  small  room 
absolutely  barren  save  for  inscriptions  on  the  wall 
which  I  recognized  as  questions  from  the  "Pearl 
of  the  Covenant."  A  pure  white  linen  garment 
fastened  like  a  great  night-gown  and  stiffly 
starched,  hung  on  a  peg.  Refusing  to  allow  my 
self  to  speculate,  I  quickly  exchanged  my  apparel 
for  the  shroud-like  vestment  and  then  rapped  on 
the  floor.  Immediately  a  trap  door  in  one  corner 
of  the  floor  opened  and  I  was  invited  to  descend. 
Iking  but  human,  all  this  mystery  began  to  have  its 
effect  upon  me. 

The  stillness,  the  white  robe  that  enveloped  me, 
and  the  prison-like  room  with  its  uncanny  door 
and  the  shuffling  figure  that  had  admitted  me  into 
the  room  and  directed  me  to  give  three  knocks,  all 
tended  to  fill  me  with  a  momentary  uneasiness.  I 
would  not  allow  their  meaningless  mummery  to 
daunt  me,  I  resolved,  and  stepped  quickly  to  the 
aperture  disclosed  by  the  trap  door.  A  short  flight 
of  steps  led  to  a  tunnel  beneath,  which  was  dimly 
lighted  by  an  oil  lamp  whose  rays  were  lost  in  the 
distance  of  the  tunnel.  I  could  see  no  one  as  I 
descended ;  but  as  my  feet  left  the  last  step,  a  man 
appeared  from  each  side  of  the  staircase.  I  was 
seized  by  four  strong  hands  and  a  voice  from  be 
hind  demanded  to  know  my  name  and  by  what 
right  I  was  travelling  the  sacred  road  to  the  "Inner 
Shrine  of  God's  Temporal  Kingdom."  I  replied  that 
I  had  been  directed  thither  by  the  President  of  the 
Church.  Whereupon  the  voice  commanded  that 
my  hands  be  bound  behind  me  and  that  my  eyes 
be  denied  the  light.  After  which,  the  voice  com 
manded  me  to  repeat  after  him  a  very  long,  profuse 
97 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

and  binding  oath  of  loyalty  to  God  and  the  up 
building  of  the  Kingdom. 

"Move  forward  to  the  next  station/*  ordered  the 
voice,  and  I  was  hustled  rapidly  forward,  over 
a  very  smooth  stone  surface  for  perhaps  five 
minutes,  when  a  new  voice  commanded :  "Halt !" 

We  stopped;  then  came  the  sound  of  whispering1 
back  and  forth,  presumably  countersigns.  A  heavy 
door  creaked  on  its  hinges,  and  we  again  moved 
forward.  A  man  was  on  either  side  of  me,  each 
with  a  grip  on  my  pinioned  arms.  I  felt  that  we 
were  out  of  the  tunnel  and  into  a  room,  the  Temple 
no  doubt.  We  had  taken  but  a  few  steps  when  a 
voice  demanded  to  know  who,  denied  the  light  and 
sight,  came  within  these  sacred  precincts.  Someone 
stepped  from  behind  me  and  the  voice  that  first  ad 
dressed  me  as  I  entered  the  tunnel,  proclaimed  that 
I  was  a  stranger  found  wandering  upon  Sacred 
Ground. 

"He  is  the  offspring  of  a  true,  loyal  Latter  Day 
Saint,  but  I  will  vouch  not  for  him." 

A  third  voice  now  interposed,  which  I  instantly 
recognized  as  belonging  to  Russell  Kimbal,  a  close 
business  associate  of  Henry  Lorenzo. 

"I  charge  this  stranger  with  being  a  traitor  to  the 
Kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  with  having  broken  his 
oath  as  a  member  of  the  Order  of  the  'Lions  of 
the  Lord/  in  that  he  has  betrayed  knowledge  that 
came  to  him  to  the  gentile  authorities ;  and  I  charge 
him  also  with  having  sought  entrance  to  the  Inner 
Shrine  of  the  Kingdom,  for  the  purpose  of  betraying 
God  and  His  servants,  and  I  pray  you,  Oh,  Prince 
of  God,  that  he  be  tried  according  to  the  law  as  re 
vealed." 

When  Kimbal  began  to  speak  I  knew  that  mis- 
98 


IN   THE    DAYS   OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

chief  was  afoot  and  my  heart  began  to  beat  faster, 
but  not  with  fear.  All  the  anger,  antagonism  and 
fierce  desire  for  revenge  welled  up  within  me  as 
this  mouthpiece  of  Henry  Lorenzo's  disclosed  to 
me  that  I  had  been  trapped. 

"Let  him  have  light  and  the  freedom  of  his  per 
son,  that  it  may  not  be  said  that  one  accused  before 
this  Holy  Shrine  was  prevented  from  having  the 
full  use  of  his  faculties  in  answering  and  defend 
ing  himself." 

Deft  fingers  removed  the  bandage  from  my  eyes 
and  the  rope  from  my  hands.  I  expected  to  open 
my  eyes  on  the  interior  of  the  Temple,  but  in  this 
I  was  disappointed.  I  glanced,  blinking  at  the 
light,  about  a  long  low  room,  plainly  furnished 
and  having  the  appearance  of  a  court-room. 
Twenty-six  men,  all  bishops  and  dignitaries  of  the 
church,  were  seated  on  an  amphitheatre-like  plat 
form,  or  stage  in  front  of  me.  All  were  dressed  in 
a  garb  similar  to  that  which  had  been  given  me, 
except  that  a  small  bee-hive  was  delicately  woven 
in  red  on  the  right  arm  of  their  vestments.  The 
President  was  seated  in  a  massive  chair  which  set 
in  the  foreground,  and  was  raised  slightly  higher 
than  the  others.  He  was  dressed  in  a  purple 
robe  and  wore  a  gold  band  around  his  head. 
Seated  on  the  bottom  step  which  led  up  to 
the  platform  were  the  five  chief  officers  of  the 
"Lions  of  the  Lord,"  all  enveloped  in  monk-like 
gowns  with  hoods,  and  long  daggers  dangling  from 
their  leather  belts.  I  noticed  these  details  in  the 
few  brief  seconds  which  elapsed  before  the 
President  asked  if  there  was  a  saint  of  any  de 
gree  present  who  would  assist  the  accused  and 
counsel  him  before  he  answered  the  accusations. 
99 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

In  the  silence  which  followed  I  took  the  opportun 
ity  to  look  about,  and  noted  that  there  was  about 
twenty  prominent  "saints"  ranged  along  the  wall 
of  the  room  each  dressed  in  a  white  gown  with 
L.  D.  S.  woven  in  red  across  the  breast.  The  men 
who  had  conducted  me  were  similarly  dressed  and 
stood  a  step  behind  me  on  either  side.  It  seemed 
very  unreal,  like  a  preposterous  dream. 

My  eyes  swept  the  room  for  a  friendly  face.  I 
knew  them  to  a  man  and  knew  them  all  for  either 
zealous  bigots  or  hypocritical  scoundrels.  For  the 
first  time  in  my  life  fear  and  terror  were  upon  me. 
I  looked  up  into  the  eyes  of  the  President.  They 
were  glittering  coldly  into  mine.  His  were  the 
eyes  of  a  "bad  man,"  a  "killer."  No  one  answered. 
There  was  not  a  sound  in  the  room  save  the  rustling 
of  starched  garments  and  the  low  insistent  hiss  of 
the  oil  lamp  burning  just  over  my  head. 

"Then,  sir,  state  your  full  name,  the  name  of 
your  parents,"  commanded  the  President. 

I  answered  in  a  voice  that  sounded  unfamiliar  to 
me,  but  though  strained,  it  was  clear  and  trem 
bling. 

"Are  you  guilty  of  the  charge  preferred  against 
you  by  Brother  Kimbal?" 

"I  am  guilty  of  nothing !"  I  said  firmly,  my  cour 
age  returning  to  some  extent. 

"Trifle  not  with  this  august,  puissant  and  Holy 
Tribunal,  for  know  ye  that  if  guilty  ye  be,  only 
your  life's  blood  will  atone  the  offense  in  this  world 
and  gain  you  mercy  in  the  world  to  come." 

He  rose  from  his  chair  as  he  spoke,  and  leaning  to 
wards  me,  shook  a  long  forefinger  at  me,  plucking 
his  long  grey  beard  nervously  with  the  other  hand. 

I  did  not  answer,  but  gazed  fixedly  into  his  bright 

IOO 


IN    THE   DAYS   OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

glittering  eyes,  which  were  blazing  with  anger  and 
the  unnatural  light  of  a  homicidal  monomaniac. 

"Let  me  say,  young  sir,  that  your  haughty  defi 
ance  sets  ill  with  me  and  that  your  pride  and  stub 
bornness  will  serve  you  a  sorry  turn  at  this  time. 
It  would  better  become  you  to  think  of  your  sins 
and  transgressions  and  bow  your  defiant  head,  yea, 
to  prostrate  yourself  and  pray  for  mercy. 

"Let  the  witnesses  be  brought  forth,  sworn  and 
heard ;  place  the  accused  at  the  proper  station." 

I  was  then  assisted  to  a  chair  at  the  left  side  of 
the  platform  where  I  faced  the  President  and  could 
view  the  whole  assemblage. 

The  appearance  of  the  white-robed,  stern-faced 
bearded  men  lined  up  on  either  side  of  the  low 
room,  and  those  on  the  platform  made  an  imposing 
appearance.  However  grotesque  and  impossible 
the  situation  may  appear  to  the  reader,  it  was  none 
the  less  real  and  tragic  to  me.  I  knew  full  well 
what  the  probable  outcome  of  this  mock  trial 
would  be.  I  knew,  too,  that  the  presence  of  the 
cloaked  and  cowled  "Lions  of  the  Lord,"  with  their 
ugly  daggers,  signified  "blood  atonement" — death. 

The  door  at  the  rear  of  the  room  opened  and 
three  men  entered.  I  could  not  see  them  distinctly 
at  first,  but  as  they  approached  the  center  of  the 
room  to  salute  the  President,  I  recognized  Henry 
Lorenzo.  As  soon  as  the  recognition  forced  itself 
upon  my  staggered  brain,  I  sprang  to  my  feet  and 
would  have  jumped  from  the  platform  and  thrown 
myself  upon  him,  had  not  someone  seized  me  rough 
ly  from  behind  and  jerked  me  violently  back  to  my 
seat.  All  the  antagonism  and  fury  that  I  had  sup 
pressed  for  the  past  few  weeks  welled  up  within  me, 
and  for  the  moment  was  too  great  for  me  to  control. 
joi 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

With  an  air  of  patience  and  long  suffering,  Henry 
advanced  to  the  center  of  the  room  and  made  a 
profound  obeisence.  His  companions  followed  the 
example.  Then  all  approached  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  platform,  and  took  an  oath  to  tell  the  truth 
concerning  the  charges  preferred  against  me.  Kim- 
bal  acted  as  prosecutor. 

Abner  Young,  an  awkward  oaf,  with  a  receding 
chin  and  roving  lack-luster  blue  eyes,  testified  in 
brief  that  he  had  heard  me  tell  an  officer  of  the 
United  States  Army  that  I  would  furnish  him  fur 
ther  information  concerning  polygamous  relations 
of  the  Latter  Day  Saints,  giving  the  day,  date,  and 
place.  He  stepped  aside  and  Walter  King  testified 
that  I  had  asked  him  concerning  a  Miss  Eber,  who 
had  been  sealed  to  one  of  the  Bishops  sitting  as  a 
juror  close  to  my  elbow.  King  testified  further  that 
I  had  remarked  that  if  he  were  a  man  of  spirit,  he 
would  resent  his  sweetheart's  being  wrested  from 
him  by  an  old  voluptuary. 

Such  evidence  was  sufficient  to  hang  a  dozen 
men  before  that  court,  but  it  did  not  frighten  me  for 
a  moment.  Indeed,  I  was  too  angry  to  care  what 
they  said  or  did  to  me. 

Henry's  testimony,  or  speech  rather,  was  the 
finest  exhibition  of  hypocrisy  that  I  ever  wit 
nessed.  In  his  rich,  mellifluous  tones  he  spoke  of 
the  earnest,  devoted  boy,  his  son,  who  had  won 
distinction  in  the  work  of  the  church ;  who  had 
shown  exceptional  zeal,  bravery  and  promise ;  how 
his  father's  heart  had  swelled  with  pride  to  think 
that  he  would  leave  behind  such  a  worthy  and  de 
voted  offspring  to  carry  on  the  good  work  which 
he,  Henry,  in  his  humble  way  had  exerted  his  poor 
power  to  accomplish.  And  now  the  bitterness  of 
103 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

this  hour,  his  fondest  hope  and  idol  shattered,  his 
gray  head  bowed  in  shame  in  the  presence  of  God's 
Chosen.  He  closed  by  saying  that  he  asked  only 
justice  for  his  son,  and  the  privilege  of  submitting 
to  the  Word  as  revealed  in  this  distressing  matter 
as  he  had  always  submitted  in  all  things. 

When  he  finished,  the  President  turned  his  blazing 
eyes  upon  me  and  roared: 

"Stand  up,  young  sir,  and  tell  us  if  there  is  any 
reason  why  you  should  not  meet  the  punishment  of 
the  damned  on  earth;  why  your  blood  should  not 
atone  your  misdeeds !" 

I  rose  to  my  feet,  trembling  in  every  limb  with 
anger  and  not  deigning  to  bow  myself  as  had  the 
others  before  speaking.  The  President  rapped  furi 
ously  on  his  desk,  and  commanded  me  to  prostrate 
myself.  I  replied  with  equal  heat  that  I  prostrated  to 
no  man,  and  that  if  they  would  hear  me  before  they 
murdered  me,  all  mummeries  must  be  laid  aside.  A 
murmur  of  admiration  ran  around  the  room,  and  the 
President,  though  purple  with  anger,  nodded  to  me 
to  go  on,  in  a  manner  that  spoke  plainly  that  though 
he  passed  the  point,  he  had  no  intention  of  forgetting 
it.  I  do  not  remember  all  I  said,  but  in  substance 
it  was  as  follows: 

"A  year  ago  I  was  a  boy,  full  of  conceit  and  self- 
assurance.  I  was  as  innocent  of  evil,  intrigue  and 
the  ulterior  motives  of  mankind  as  a  child  babbling 
over  its  rattle.  It  did  not  occur  to  me  that  anyone 
who  professed  our  religion  would  allow  lust  to  over 
ride  propriety,  justice  and  fundamental  decency. 
Much  less  did  I  know  or  deem  that  the  man  who  was 
responsible  for  my  existence  was  the  most  loath 
some  hypocrite  that  God  in  His  infinite  wis 
dom  ever  allowed  to  breathe  the  pure  air  of  this 
mountain  world  of  ours.  I  knew  that  the  beneficent 

103 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   B  RICH  AM    YOUNG 

Creator  had  put  the  venomous  snake  on  earth,  but 
failed  to  read  the  lesson  taught  by  its  presence — that 
the  price  of  safety,  like  the  price  of  liberty,  is  to  be 
purchased  by  eternal  vigilance.  The  hand  that  should 
have  guided  me,  and  the  brain  that  should  have 
taught  me,  was  at  that  time  intriguing  to  rob  me  of 
the  woman  I  loved;  to  make  her  his  concubine,  and 
me  his  dupe.  You  may  sit  and  blink  smugly,  but  you 
know  of  what  I  speak,  and  you  know  it  is  the  truth. 

"Men,  I  am  accused  of  having  betrayed  the  secrets 
of  your  organization.  It  is  true  that  I  have  told  of 
crimes  that  have  been  commited  by  some  of  ^your 
number,  which  are  as  black  as  the  sins  of  Sodom  and 
equally  revolting.  But  I  have  not  broken  my  word 
with  the  "Lions  of  the  Lord"  or  betrayed  any  of  its 
secrets.  I  do  not  intend  to  break  the  oath  which  I 
took  when  I  entered  this  edifice,  which  is  the  second 
offense  charged  and  which  is  purely  anticipatory. 
Therefore,  gentlemen,  I  give  you  my  word  under 
oath,  that  I  am  not  guilty  of  either  of  the  offenses 
charged." 

"I  have  a  counter  complaint  to  make  to  this  body, 
which  I  wish  you  clearly  to  understand  is  not  offered 
to  you  at  this  time  in  extenuation  of  any  offense  you 
may  believe  me  guilty  of,  but  as  testimony  against 
the  horrible  monster  that  is  growing  to  great  and 
greater  strength  each  day  in  the  social  system  by  which 
you  are  governed.  It  is  nothing  less  than  that  char 
acter-corroding,  soul-blighting,  hellish  business  of 
plural  marriage.  To  that,  men,  I  am  a  traitor  and  an 
undying  enemy.  Ah !  I  see  your  backs  stiffen  and 
your  hands  move  to  your  daggers.  But  I  am  not 
afraid  of  death.  If  I  were  I  would  neither  be  here 
nor  would  I  speak  as  I  do  now.  Let  me  tell  you  why 
I  do  not  prize  life:  I  have  been  robbed  of  all  that 
makes  life  dear  to  true  manhood ;  my  mate,  the  wom- 

104 


IN    THE   DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

an  I  love.  Robbed  by  that  loathsome  monster  that  has 
made  you  all  traitors  to  your  Anglo-Saxon  manhood, 
plural  marriage.  Plural  marriage,  I  say,  and  in  say 
ing  I  curse  it  with  a  bitterness  that  will  not  find  ex 
pression  in  words. 

"Look  at  Henry  Lorenzo,  at  once  my  accuser,  my 
betrayer,  my  evil  genius  and  my  father.  Look  at  him 
I  say,  then  look  at  me  and  ask  yourselves  which  has 
the  blackest  soul  and  whose  blood  should  flow  in 
atonement.  A  fit,  fine  and  finished  product  of  pol 
ygamous  deviltry!  May  justice  overtake  his  villain 
ous  gray  head !  Witness  what  I  say,  men,  of  my 
parent !  And  they  say  to  me  and  to  each  other,  and 
even  dare  to  whisper  it  in  the  innermost  secret  cham 
bers  of  your  perverted  minds  that  polygamy  is  the 
will  of  a  just,  loving  and  merciful  God ! 

"And  yet  I  am  haled  before  this  august  tribunal 
to  be  sentenced  to  death  for  betraying  this  monster, 
while  Henry  Lorenzo  sits  as  a  smug  and  honored 
prophet  in  your  counsels.  Men,  if  my  brain  ever 
conceived  acts  such  as  you  know  Henry  Lorenzo  has 
committed,  even  while  crazed  by  trust  misplaced, 
while  tortured  in  the  hell  of  lost  hope,  while  drunk 
with  the  madness  of  despair  over  the  black-dyed 
trickery,  the  low-browed  cunning  that  cost  me  the 
woman  I  loved,  then  men,  take  my  life's  blood  from 
me !  Blood  atonement  would  be  too  good.  Then  I 
would  say  drive  me  out  into  the  cruel  and  inclement 
mountains,  even  as  that  gentle  and  innocent  child  was 
driven  like  the  crawling  and  loathsome  reptile  from 
the  haunts  of  men. 

"You,  Henry  Lorenzo,  say  that  all  you  ask  is  that 
God's  will  be  done.  I  say,  that  if  there  is  a  day  of 
judgment  for  you,  that  the  best  your  worst  enemy 
could  say  is  that  justice  be  done.  You !  Oh,  '.Prince 
of  God!'  You!  Oh,  gray- bearded  genii  of  the  devil, 

105 


IN    THE    DAYS    OF   BRIGHAM    YOUNG 

I  ask  the  same  for  you.  And  I  ask  It  for  all  present 
in  this  room  tonight:  when  the  Judgment  Day  comes, 
may  justice  be  done  in  all  and  to  all,  and  may  I  be 
there  to  witness  it.  I  will  welcome  it  as  coolly  as  I 
will  your  taking  of  my  life  this  night.  I  am  through 
except  that  I  say :  may  you  all  be  damned  who  do  not 
renounce  polygamy!" 

When  I  ceased  speaking  and  sat  down,  there  was 
a  momentary  pause  of  silence,  save  for  the  shuffling 
of  feet  and  deep  intaking  of  breath.  Then  the  Presi 
dent  said:  "Out  with  him,  guards!  I  thought  him 
a  knave  only,  but  it  seems  he  is  also  a  fool." 

My  bolt  was  shot.  I  permitted  the  guard  to  hustle 
me  out  without  a  word  of  resistance.  They  took  me 
but  a  few  steps  down  the  passageway  from  whence 
Henry  and  the  other  witnesses  entered,  and  pushed 
me  into  a  large  damp  cell  lighted  by  a  smoking  oil 
lamp.  I  took  little  note  of  my  surroundings,  throw 
ing  myself  face  downward  on  a  straw  mattress  in  a 
corner  of  the  room.  One  of  the  guards  lingered  for 
a  moment,  and  said :  "You  were  not  blindfolded.  That 
will  mean  'blood  atoned/  "  and  with  that  he  left, 
quietly  closing  and  locking  the  door. 

Now  that  I  knew  my  fate  was  settled,  my  wits 
began  to  work  on  the  idea  of  escape.  I  have  no 
morbid  streak  in  me,  and  had  no  intention  of  being 
murdered  without  an  attempt  at  freedom.  As  soon  as 
the  guard  closed  the  door  in  the  passageway  after 
him,  I  was  on  my  feet  and  examining  the  room  for  a 
means  of  escape.  It  offered  none.  The  floor  and  the 
wall  were  of  stone,  and  the  door  plated  with  steel. 
There  was  not  an  article  of  furniture  in  the  room, 
except  the  cot. 

The  place  was  oppressively  quiet,  and  something- 
like  a  panic  came  upon  me.  The  bold  words  I  had 
spoken  a  few  moments  before  were  forgotten  and  I 
106 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG 

began  to  feel  that  death  was  indeed  at  hand.  I 
thought  of  prayer,  but  I  now  had  no  God.  I  rushed 
madly  around  the  walls  of  the  room  for  perhaps  ten 
minutes  before  the  panic  left  me,  and  my  natural 
courage  came  back.  I  stretched  myself  out  on  the 
cot,  and  endeavored  to  sleep,  but  my  pulse  was  run 
ning  high  and  my  nerves  wrought  to  their  highest 
pitch.  In  about  two  hours  I  heard  the  door  at  the 
end  of  the  corridor  open  and  the  sound  of  many 
feet.  The  door  to  my  cell  was  unlocked,  and  the 
"Lions  of  the  Lord,"  who  had  been  seated  in  the 
room  during  my  trial,  filed  in.  One  of  them  read 
the  charges  that  were  made  against  me,  and  wound  up 
with  the  sentence  of  death  which  had  been  decided 
upon.  I  was  not  even  to  have  the  honor  of  being 
"blood  atoned,"  but  was  to  be  taken  into  the  moun 
tains  and  shot.  I  sat  up  on  the  cot  and  laughed  at 
them,  though  my  laughter  was  lacking  in  mirth. 
Without  further  ado,  I  was  bound  hand  and  foot, 
blindfolded,  carried  out  and  thrown  into  a  wagon. 


107 


CHAPTER  V. 

FOR  hours  the  wagon  rumbled  over  the  rocks.  Tor 
mented  in  body  and  mind  I  rolled  about  in  the 
bottom  of  the  wagon  box.  After  what  seemed  an 
age  of  time  the  wagon  stopped.  Strong,  rough  hands 
lifted  me  out,  and  dropped  me  to  the  ground. 
I  strained  hard  at  the  ropes  that  bound  me,  but  it 
was  useless.  I  heard  my  executioners  preparing  to 
camp  for  a  meal.  Presently  the  blindfold  was  taken 
off  my  eyes,  and  I  was  given  a  cup  of  coffee.  I 
looked  about  and  judged  the  time  to  be  close  to  mid 
day,  and  the  place  to  be  a  remote  canyon  far  up  in 
the  mountains,  northeast  of  Salt  Lake  City.  My 
executioners  numbered  but  three.  They  were  all  old 
men,  old  time  zealots,  hardened  and  bigoted.  I  shiv 
ered  violently.  The  cold  mountain  air  was  not  the 
sole  cause.  They  went  about  the  business  of  tem 
porary  camp  as  though  the  trip  was  a  usual  one,  as 
doubtless  it  was,  and  likewise  the  errand.  They  con 
versed  unconcernedly  with  one  another.  I  noted  two 
shovels  and  three  rifles  lying  a  few  feet  from  me. 
They  had  come  prepared.  If  I  could  but  get  my 
hands  on  one  of  the  rifles,  there  would  be  but  one 
man  to  use  the  shovels.  Fascinated  by  their  cool, 
deliberate  actions,  I  watched  the  men  at  the  camp 
fire.  Evidently  I  was  to  be  murdered  here, — but 
when?  As  soon  as  they  finished  breakfast,  no  doubt. 

One  of  my  captors  sat  facing  me.  His  appearance 
was  not  prepossessing.  One  eye  was  gone,  and  he 
wore  a  long  white  silky  beard,  peculiar  to  the  Mor- 

108 


IN   THE   DAYS   OF   BRIG  HAM    YOUNG     i 

mons  of  the  old  school,  who  never  shaved,  but  al 
lowed  the  hair  on  their  faces  to  grow  naturally.  His 
hat  was  off,  although  it  was  anything  but  a  warm 
day,  and  his  long,  sparse  locks  blew  about  his  head 
in  the  breeze.  They  had  built  their  fire  close  to  a 
high  cliff,  so  high  that  I  could  not  see  the  top  from 
where  I  lay.  I  was  perhaps  twenty  feet  from 
where  they  sat,  and  could  hear  much  of  their  conver 
sation.  Their  meal  finished,  the  one-eye  man  yawned 
and  stretched  himself  as  he  arose  lo  his  feet,  spun 
around,  and  dropped  to  the  ground,  and  the  sound 
of  a  rifle  shot  echoed  and  re-echoed  up  and 
down  the  canyon,  followed  by  another  and  another. 
His  comrades,  too,  fell  back  as  they  started  to  rise. 
I  could  scarcely  credit  my  eyes.  Before  the  last 
echoes  died  away,  Edward  strode  past  me,  and  I 
shouted  for  joy.  When  he  saw  where  the  rifles  lay, 
he  came  to  me  quickly,  and  in  a  trice  I  was  rubbing 
my  stiffened  arms  and  limbs,  while  Edward  coolly 
examined  my  would-be  executioners.  All  the  time  I 
questioned  him  incoherently,  almost  blubbering  for 
joy.  But,  best  of  all,  there  was  a  swish  of  feminine 
garments,  and  Louise  suddenly  knelt  beside  me  from 
behind.  I  was  too  startled  and  stupefied  to  speak 
for  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  minute;  but  she  held  out 
her  hand  and  smiled,  and  I  seized  her  in  my  arms. 
My  cup  was  full ! 

Louise  had  been  rescued  by  her  brother,  who  had 
not  dared  to  tell  even  me  of  her  existence  fearing 
that  I  might  be  watched  if  I  sought  her,  which  I  most 
certainly  would  have  done. 

We  are  "living  happy  ever  after"  in  prosperity 
and  contentment  in  the  good  State  of  Washington. 

[THE  END.] 
109 


